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Masstige, or luxury for the masses, is a phenomenon that requires a heterodox economic approach based on Original Institutional Economics view of corporate power combined with Marxian concept of brand fetishism and post-Keynesian theories of pricing and consumer choice. The attitude toward luxury in classical works on political economy is briefly outlined. By applying the post-Keynesian theory of oligopolistic pricing, we show how the power of luxury brands enables high profits of luxury conglomerates. We use the post-Keynesian theory of consumer choice to differentiate between various types of masstige buyers. JEL Classification: B52, D11, D21, D43 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Chapter 5 'Effective Demand and Employment' in Post-Keynesian Economics: New Foundations by Marc Lavoie. This chapter covers one of the most distinctive contributions of the post-Keynesians, and one of its most profound insights. Analysis of effective demand and employment is a crucial and distinct foundation of post-Keynesian economics. Identifying the determinants of the level of employment and output represent one of the most significant contributions of post-Keynesian analysis. This is in total contrast to mainstream theory, according to which the level of output and employment are determined in the labour market, with labour seen as just another commodity, and the wage rate playing the role of the price equating supply and demand for labour. For post-Keynesians, the main determinant of the level of output and employment is the level of effective demand rather than the wage rate. Their views on the labour markets, taking into account segmented labour markets and efficiency wages, are considered. The determinants of profits and the profit share play important roles in the determination of employment and output. It is argued that fiscal policy plays a vital role in economic stabilisation, and that the typical arguments regarding its limitations are incorrect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper celebrates the contributions to Keynesian theory of the late Brazilian economist Fernando Cardim de Carvalho (1953–2018). We use Carvalho's 12 refereed English-language papers on Keynesian theory — the first published in 1983, the last in 2016 — as a point of departure for reflecting on two questions confronting macroeconomists today. First, what is the work of the economist — in what does economic analysis consist? Second, in this post-crisis era, how might macroeconomics — and specifically Keynesian macroeconomics — be rebuilt? Carvalho's writings show that the work of the economist can be as much about understanding the raw elements of human behavior in the real world — what we will call the foundational level of analysis — as about constructing models depicting the momentum of economic systems incorporating these behaviors. Adopting this approach to the practice of theory leads to insights and frameworks that would be lost if macroeconomic theorizing were equated with formal model building: it will enrich exchanges among economists, deepen the conceptual roots of Post Keynesian macroeconomics, and facilitate interdisciplinary exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rent seeking has once again become an important topic in economics. However, rent seeking poses challenges that standard economic theory is not well equipped to handle. This paper develops a working definition of rent seeking that can be applied to post-Keynesian growth models. The main finding is that, in a post-Keynesian framework, rent seeking will have an effect on income distribution and average productivity. In addition, increases in rent seeking can have undesirable effects on the distribution of talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monetary analysis of some ecological economists currently appears to be mostly articulated around the following core: a stationary economy (and a fortiori a degrowth economy) is incompatible with a system in which money is created as interest-bearing debt. To question the relevance of the debt-money/positive interest rate/output growth nexus, this paper adopts a critical stance towards the currently emerging ecological monetary economics from the standpoint of another strand of heterodox economics – the post-Keynesian approach. In its current state, ecological monetary economics is at odds with post-Keynesian economics in its analysis of the money–growth relationship. This will be shown using the theory of endogenous money and a simple Cambridgian–Kaleckian model where debt-money and a positive interest rate are compatible with a full stationary economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financialization is studied here from a microeconomic viewpoint. Following Stockhammer (2004a), the theory of the firm has been amended by introducing agency problems and class analysis between shareholders and managers. Further to that, I propose two alternative configurations for incorporation into the theory: the first views financialization as a constraint for the managerial firm, while the second discusses shareholders' interests and integrates them as an end in itself for the finance-dominated firm. My conclusions focus on finance-oppressed accumulation, financial fragility, and potential macroeconomic instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boulding's reconstruction of macroeconomics provides a ‘micro-foundation’ based on liquidity preference theory, a balance sheet approach, and a process of homeostasis. These microfoundations are consistent with his aggregate theory and avoid fallacies of composition—such as the paradox of thrift—as well as the ‘adding up’ problems of marginal productivity theory. His distribution theory links income shares to the determinants of employment and output and the conditions of equilibrium of saving and investment. His definitions provide clear alternatives to the NIPA definitions adopted in ‘Keynesian’ theory. He provides an alternative view of fiscal and monetary policies that will not prove to be impotent in the face of the ongoing conservative counterrevolution. Indeed, his theories are quite close to the modern Post-Keynesian understanding of ‘endogenous money,’ the deficit-growth relation, and the investment-saving connection, while his policy recommendations are often consistent with those of Post-Keynesians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]