Every time the economy goes through a period of crisis, Keynes’ name is called upon by economists and politicians from diverse backgrounds. However, 70 years after the publication of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, specialists are still far—maybe everyday further—from reaching agreement about the genuine contents of Keynes’ most important work. This controversy has been marked by a paradoxical turn: it is above all the literature about Keynes which, in the last decades, has imposed the terms of the debate, while The General Theory lacks readers. Accused by both its detractors and admirers of being a confusing book that is inconsistent and even plagued with logical errors, the most important contribution of the most influential economist of the 20th century has been condemned to be forgotten or, at best, to live uncomfortably in the voices of those who have spoken on his behalf. This book is the result of rigorous critical research which reconstructs the spectrum of discussion surrounding Keynes’ main work. The book begins by describing the historical background and the state of the pre-Keynesian economic theory, subsequently immersing the reader in a concise but detailed—as well as innovative— interpretation of the original text. The revision of some of the main interpretative currents prepares the field for the book’s ultimate contribution: the identification of the fundamentals that sustain the analytical structure of The General Theory. At the same time, this exploration of the theoretical fundamentals of The General Theory makes this book an original intervention on the genesis and relevance of the divide between micro and macroeconomics—a division that has been fully accepted by contemporary macro theorists.

Leading economists revisit a provocative essay by John Maynard Keynes, debating Keynes's vision of growth, inequality, work, leisure, entrepreneurship, consumerism, and the search for happiness in the twenty-first century.

At the height of the Great Depression a number of leading U.S. economists advanced a proposal for monetary reform that became known as the Chicago Plan. It envisaged the separation of the monetary and credit functions of the banking system, by requiring 100% reserve backing for deposits. Irving Fisher (1936) claimed the following advantages for this plan: (1) Much better control of a major source of business cycle fluctuations, sudden increases and contractions of bank credit and of the supply of bank-created money. (2) Complete elimination of bank runs. (3) Dramatic reduction of the (net) public debt. (4) Dramatic reduction of private debt, as money creation no longer requires simultaneous debt creation. We study these claims by embedding a comprehensive and carefully calibrated model of the banking system in a DSGE model of the U.S. economy. We find support for all four of Fisher's claims. Furthermore, output gains approach 10 percent, and steady state inflation can drop to zero without posing problems for the conduct of monetary policy.

Heinz Kurz is recognised internationally as a leading economic theorist and a foremost historian of economic thought. This book pays tribute to his outstanding contributions on the occasion of his 65thbirthday by bringing together a unique collection of new essays by distinguished economists from around the world. Keynes, Sraffa, and the Criticism of Neoclassical Theory comprises twenty-three essays, covering themes in Keynesian economic theory, in the development of the modern classical approach to economic theory, linear production models, and the critique of neoclassical theory. The essays in this book will be an invaluable source of inspiration for economists interested in economic theory and in the evolution of economic thought. They will also be of interest to postgraduate and research students specialising in economic theory and in the history of economic thought.

This second edition explores how money 'works' in the modern economy and synthesises the key principles of Modern Money Theory, exploring macro accounting, currency regimes and exchange rates in both the USA and developing nations.

The first volume in a series of collected writings by Paul Davidson, this book covers such areas as money, finance, Keynes, monetarism and macroeconomic employment. The collected writings are also available as a complete set.