Review of M. C. Marcuzzo's Essays in Keynesian Persuasion, (2019, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars) [Review]

Marcuzzo’s Essays in Keynesian Persuasion is a collection of 15 papers published between 2002 and 2018 with a focus on the work and thought of John Maynard Keynes from a variety of perspectives. It can be seen as a companion volume to Fighting Market Failure (Marcuzzo, 2012), which is a collection of 15 papers published between 1994 and 2008 on the pantheon of economists that constitute the Cambridge school of economics

El papel de la Teoría General en el canon de economía

This paper presents in non-technical language an interpretation of the argument of The General Theory, which is the importance of effective demand and its relation to human agency. It argues that The General Theory is not only a treatise on economic theory, but also, and more importantly, a treatise on methodology, i.e. how economists should reason when dealing with the complexity of the real world. Implicit in this analysis is a distinct position on the remit of the economist and the nature of economic advice and policy. This interpretation suggests that this understanding forms a new paradigm of thinking about the economy at large, centred around the concept of uncertainty. This insight developed into a new analytical tradition in economics, the Post-Keynesian School of economic thought that sees uncertainty and effective demand as the key analytical long-term concepts for understanding how the economy evolves through time.Este artículo presenta en un lenguaje no técnico una interpretación del argumento de The General Theory, que es el de la importancia de la demanda efectiva y su relación con la agencia humana. Abunda en la idea de que The General Theory no es solo un tratado sobre teoría económica, sino también, y lo que es más importante, un tratado sobre metodología, es decir, sobre cómo los economistas deben razonar cuando tratas la complejidad del mundo real. En este análisis hay implícita una posición sobre las competencias de un economista y la naturaleza de la política y asesoramiento económicos. Esta interpretación sugiere que ello forma parte de un nuevo paradigma de pensamiento económico, centrado en el concepto de incertidumbre. Esta se convirtió en una nueva tradición analítica en economía, la Escuela de pensamiento económico poskeynesiano que considera la incertidumbre y la demanda efectiva como los conceptos analíticos clave a largo plazo para comprender cómo evoluciona la economía en el tiempo.Depto. de Economía Aplicada, Estructura e HistoriaFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEpu

Book review: Mark G Hayes, 'John Maynard Keynes: The Art of Choosing the Right Model'

Mark Hayes’ John Maynard Keynes. The Art of Choosing the Right Model published by Polity Press is the second book by Hayes that gives a general overview of his reading on Keynes’ writings and specifically of The General Theory. It comes 13 years after The Economics of Keynes: A New Guide to The General Theory, (2006, Edward Elgar)

The place of The General Theory in the Economics Canon

This paper presents in non-technical language an interpretation of the argument of The General Theory, which is the importance of effective demand and its relation to human agency. It argues that The General Theory is not only a treatise on economic theory, but also, and more importantly, a treatise on methodology, i.e. how economists should reason when dealing with the complexity of the real world. Implicit in this analysis is a distinct position on the remit of the economist and the nature of economic advice and policy. This interpretation suggests that this understanding forms a new paradigm of thinking about the economy at large, centred around the concept of uncertainty. This insight developed into a new analytical tradition in economics, the Post-Keynesian School of economic thought that sees uncertainty and effective demand as the key analytical long-term concepts for understanding how the economy evolves through time

W. Stark, J.M. Keynes, and the Mercantilists

In this paper we investigate Werner Stark’s sociology of knowledge approach in the history of economic thought. This paper explores: 1) The strengths and weaknesses of Stark’s approach to historiography, 2) seeing how this can frame an understanding of mercantilist writings and, 3) develop a link between a pluralist understanding of economics, and the sociology of knowledge approach. The reason for developing this link is to extend the sociology of knowledge approach to encompass a pluralist understanding of economic theorising and, at the same time, clarify the link between context and economic theory. John Maynard Keynes’ practice of building narratives of intellectual traditions as evidenced in The General Theory is used to develop a position between an understanding of history of economic thought as the evolution of abstract and de-contextualized economic theorising and, the view of economic theory as only relevant within the social conditions from which it arose

J.M. Keynes, F.A. Hayek and the Common Reader

This paper gives an account of the debate between F.A. Hayek and J.M. Keynes in the 1930s written for the general public. The purpose of this is twofold. First, to provide the general reader with a narrative of what happened, and pointers to further reading which are accessible to the non-specialist. Second, to discuss how academics can fruitfully bridge the gap between their specialist work and the public without reducing complex themes into one-dimensional narratives. I use the Keynes vs. Hayek debate as a case study on how this may be achieved

Integrating History of Economic Thought into Introductory Economics

In most universities in the UK history of economic thought, when it is taught, is taught either as a specialist or an optional module in the second and third year of the degree. This contribution argues in favour of introducing elements from the history of economic thought into the first year introductory economics module. The reasons why I see this to be an important change in developing curricula that teach economics through its history and evolution, are the following: 1) students learn from the beginning the context of economic ideas, instead of being introduced to economic theory in a de-contextualised way. This provides a framing effect for their whole undergraduate education in economics. 2) It allows history of economic thought to be seen in an integrated way as foundational of all knowledge in economic theory instead of another specialist topic, similar to other specialist topics like e.g. labour or financial economics, occasionally taught as options in years 2 and 3 in most degrees. This distinction is important, as specialist topics are seen as extensions of neoclassical theory into a specific domain of knowledge or application. History of economic thought, by its very subject matter, does not easily fit within such a framework. 3) It allows history to play a role in other modules, because it provides a unified framework for seeing knowledge in economics. 4) It allows the problimatisation of concepts that are still in dispute and discussion between economists, by presenting the historical context of modern conventions and conversations. 5) Finally, it allows the introduction of pluralism in economic curricula, as the differences between alternative paradigms or world views, can be presented from the beginning of the undergraduate programme of studies, allowing a broader and more diversified menu of optional and core module choices in years 2 and 3 of the degree

G.C. Harcourt: An economist with accounting sense

Geoffrey Colin Harcourt’s work on the interface between accountancy and economics is a part of his legacy that is less well-known than his work on the capital controversies. This paper argues that the analytical findings of this research effort are an important and integral part of Harcourt’s overall research programme. In this paper we review Harcourt’s work on the relation between economics and accounting from the time of his undergraduate thesis to 1969, the date of the publication with Robert Parker of the edited volume Readings in the Concept and Measurement of Income. This paper intends to offer insights on A) the evolution of Harcourt’s thought during this period and a survey of the significant contributions he made to research in this field during this time, and B) the legacy of his approach and findings. We argue that his ideas in this domain offer important insights in doing post-Keynesian economics in the Harcourt mould. We find that Harcourt’s insights on the issues relating to the accounting rate of profit as used by economists remains relevant to today, as well as his implicit suggestions on how to deal with the complexities of the problems that ensue both for the theorist, practical economist, businessman, and policy advisor. Harcourt’s work suggests that we should not aim to replace one monolithic way of seeing things with another, indicating that the useful definition of key concepts and tools is determined by the problem and hence by the policy question one wants to answer