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Starting in 2021, the current inflation process has spurred plenty of discussion in academic and policy circles. This paper studies the relationship between firms' markups and inflation during the 2021–22 inflation surge in several industrialized countries. It begins by explaining markup inflation and its critics in the context of the current debate over the sources of inflation. Then it reviews the characteristics of markup inflation within the post-Keynesian theory of markup pricing and complementing it with the Institutionalist approach to inflation that distinguishes between basic inflationary pressures and propagation mechanisms. The second part assesses markup inflation for several industrialized countries using descriptive statistics and conventional econometrics. The main contribution falls in empirically estimating markups considering the contribution of material cost and controlling for changes in capacity utilization over time. It concludes that there is some evidence pointing at markup inflation and, importantly, the existence of markup inflation leads to rejecting any wage-price spiral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a post-Keynesian stock flow consistent (PK-SFC) model that analyses the dynamics of an economy characterised by several — often individually studied — features of PK-SFC studies together with some innovative aspects. In particular, we investigate the income and wealth distribution between two social classes, capitalists and workers, after a period of a crisis subject to different policy scenarios. Non-financial firms but also government can undertake investments decisions and both accumulate capital. Finally, we consider the workers' and capitalists' consumption behaviour that contributes to produce (un)sustainable paths. Our model is built upon Bibi (2020, 2021) within an endogenous money framework and is calibrated using available data for major advanced economies. Simulations are conducted to question the different government fiscal policies to reduce unemployment boosting the economic activity, to obtain a more equitable distribution between social classes while obtaining those goals in a sustainable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certain post-Keynesian (PK) authors consider Means as one of the founding figures of PK theory and a notable contributor to heterodox economic thought in general. Paradoxically, many surveys of PK economics do not mention his name at all. It is the purpose of the current study to scrutinize the possible reasons behind the contradictory evaluations of Means’ contributions among PK authors. Based on a critical analysis of his stance on Keynesian and political economics traditions as well as his labor analysis, I argue that Means’ ideas and PK theory remain in harmony on the surface but conflict at a more fundamental level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows that post-Keynesian economics is more closely tied to the proposal of equality of place rather than that of equality of opportunity. More precisely, it advocates for the approach of utilizing equality of place as a means to attain equality of opportunity. These are two conceptions of social policy. Equality of opportunity distinguishes between poor and non-poor, and state intervention is focused on poor people. This mode of intervention promotes individuals' improvements in human capital, assuming that the poor can reach the position they want through a competitive process. In contrast, the idea of equality of place is intertwined with the concept of decommodification and supply-side subsidies. It envisions a scenario in which markets might not ensure that people can access fundamental rights. Consequently, it suggests an alternate role for state intervention. Because some heterodox and post-Keynesian authors have identified with the principle of equality of opportunity, it is important to clarify the nature of the relationship between social policy and post-Keynesian economics. The principle of equality of place can provide a framework of social policy that is consistent with the tenets of the post-Keynesian tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present an economy-wide assessment of the economic impacts of climate change in Viet Nam under a net zero scenario. Viet Nam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the Asia - Pacific region. The changes in political and socio-economic conditions since the Đổi Mới reforms have been accompanied by the progressive building of new environmental policies. A specific form of Vietnamese environmental State has emerged, climaxing in the Net Zero announcement of Viet Nam at COP26 and its participation in the Just Transition Energy Partnership coalition. At the same time, the ongoing climate crisis makes it crucial to assess the climate change impacts for policy planning at the macroeconomic level. The loss due to climate change could prevent Viet Nam from achieving its development target of becoming an industrialized country by 2045, let alone reaching the Net Zero ambition. In addition, we consider how climate change and the political discourse on climate change are currently progressively institutionalized and becoming an integral component of Vietnamese social dynamics. [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 article represents a systematic presentation of the post-Keynesian alternative to mainstream economic theory. It places observation of reality at the centre of the investigation and derives — through an in-depth examination of post-Keynesian literature — an analytical model capable of interpreting the behaviour of firms in a capitalistic market economy. The chapter on which this article focuses is in a book covering the core elements of this heterodox model, which creates a coherent framework for investigating and interpreting the workings of an economic system that approximates reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory article offers a brief overview of the life and works of Alain Parguez. Special focus is on the personal contact with the authors and on Parguez's major contributions to political economy since the early 1980s when the two authors first met him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article briefly recounts this author's personal experience with Alain Parguez and sketches some of his important contributions over four decades. It then tackles the contemporary policy controversy concerning net public spending and inflation, which is once again contentious in today's inflationary environment. Alain Parguez's viewpoint was diametrically opposed to the Hayekian position that deficit spending is inevitably inflationary; the latter presumed positive relation between deficits and inflation being questioned by simple empirical evidence available from Western industrial countries. In his writings, instead, Parguez defended a strong Keynesian position on the productive role of public spending. Outside of interest payments on the public debt, he considered public spending broadly in the nature of public investment unassociated with any predictable inflationary consequences, except perhaps in a fully-employed economy. "Good" public budgetary deficits generate much-needed physical productive capital but also essential human/social capital via government transfers. This view is contrasted with the views of two other celebrated post-Keynesian/circuitist writers, Augusto Graziani and Hyman Minsky, who despite important common features of their analyses vis-à-vis those of Parguez, held a somewhat different view of the inflationary impact of deficit spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I present a bird’s-eye view of Robinson’s intellectual journey and I follow Harcourt in his assessment of her contributions and intellectual personality. From his many articles and books, in all his unconditional support and admiration of her, there were also some theoretical disagreements. These particularly revolve around her interpretation of Marx, and in some respects also of Sraffa. This bears witness to Harcourt’s integrity and intellectual honesty, a scholar who could be at the same time both critical and sympathetic in intellectual confrontations, whilst also being a very close friend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article implies that the time is ripe for a new paradigm in economic theory comprising classical (Ricardian) and Keynesian elements of analysis. The central Section Five presents the basic equations of classical-Keynesian political economy, the price and the quantity equation, based on three constitutive principles: the classical labour value and surplus principles and the Keynesian principle of effective demand. Subsequently, two employment mechanisms implied in the super-multiplier relation, the classical-Keynesian quantity equation, are mentioned, the internal and the external employment mechanism. Section Seven provides an analysis of the actual situation on the basis of the external employment mechanism, associated with cumulative processes of increasing disequilibria and inequalities. Given this, it ought to be replaced by the internal employment mechanism, allowing for Keynesian employment and distribution policies (Section Eight). However, the internal mechanism can only be implemented if a new world economic order is brought about, based upon a supranational currency, that is, Keynes's bancor, to ensure balance of current account equilibria worldwide. Section Ten sets forth Keynes's social liberalism, the social philosophy underlying classical-Keynesian political economy, the fundamental social ethical value of which is the Common Good. Social Liberalism thus emerges as the alternative to Capitalism and Socialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the sustainability of student debt in the US. For this purpose, I build a neo-Kaleckian model in which households can borrow to either consume or invest in human capital. Next, I calibrate the model using US data to simulate the economic effects of specific policies such as student loan forgiveness. To my knowledge, this is the first study that considers household borrowing for two different purposes, consumption and human capital accumulation, in a demand-led macro-modeling framework. The main findings are that (i) household debt is sustainable in the long run (i.e., the debt servicing is compatible with the long-term economic growth) for a consumption level greater than 90% of household income; (ii) new borrowing boosts short-term economic activity while having ambiguous long-term effects because of its outcomes to household indebtedness and debt servicing; and (iii) student loan cancelation has only short-run economic effects, whereas reducing loan interest rates and changing the eligibility criterion for student loan forgiveness result in long-term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an answer to the question: What is new, what is good and what is relevant for Eurozone countries in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)? The answer is organized under six questions: (1) What is MMT? (2) What is the definition of a sovereign currency — an important concept for MMT authors? (3) Does the institutional setup play any role in assessing monetary sovereignty? (4) Is the euro a foreign currency for eurozone countries, that is, are eurozone countries currency users or currency issuers? (5) Why could there be a eurozone financial crisis and was it a balance-of-payment crisis, as a number of authors have claimed? (6) And as a conclusion, what is the future of the Eurozone? It is argued that MMT is part of the Institutionalist branch of post-Keynesian economics; that the current definition of a sovereign currency is insufficient; that the Eurozone crisis arose from the combination of Maastricht-like rules and the convention that the European Central Bank would not act as a purchaser of last resort; and that this crisis can only be taken to be a balance-of-payment crisis when considering that bond investors thought some countries would leave the Eurozone and face currency depreciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to combine Alfred Eichner's institutionalist theory of the megacorp and a corresponding definition of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with transaction cost theory (TCT) based on firms' asset specificity. We have identified three types of SMEs: subcontracting SMEs as "spokes" within hub-megacorp network, independent SMEs as local competitors of megacorps, and SMEs as partners in cluster networks. The article outlines some distinctive features of the three types and then concentrates on subcontracting SMEs, presenting their submission to megacorp's power through mark-down pricing and their consequent inability to grow. We mention some illustrative examples from Slovenia, a small transition economy, in which many SMEs have been part of international megacorps' supply chains. We conclude that TCT, in spite of its neoclassical paradigmatic background, enriches the institutionalist approach to SMEs without changing its evolutionary character, inherited from old institutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with one of the most pressing concerns that Eurozone periphery economies will face in the near future: how to achieve a sustained recovery from the COVID-19 crisis while dealing with growing public debt-to-GDP ratios. The paper assesses the macroeconomic relationship between public spending, economic growth and debt sustainability. We use a TSLS method to perform the econometric estimation of the public spending multiplier for a panel of 11 Eurozone economies over the 1995–2019 period. We find evidence that the multiplier is positive and close to 1,8, suggesting that the benefits of promoting public investment exceed its initial financing cost. As a result, we conclude that debt sustainability is not only compatible with, but in fact improved by a more expansive fiscal policy and present an alternative policy path for the Portuguese economy in the 2021–2025 period based on this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Greek crisis shocked many by its magnitude and by the nature of the policies implemented in its aftermath. The radical nature of the so-called Memorandum of Understanding was justified by the imbalances that the Greek economy experienced before the crisis. The current account deficit had been rising, as private and external debts. In addition, the ratio of public debt to GDP exceeded 100%. The crisis has been widely explained by a lack of fiscal discipline, a loss of competitiveness, and the rise of capital inflows. In this article, we seek to refute these narratives and offer a post-Keynesian interpretation of the Greek economic trajectory. Growing private indebtedness boosted imports. The resulting current account deficits were offset by rising capital inflows. Greece's high level of public debt goes back to the 1980s. The narrow tax base of the country and usurious interest rates are to blame. However, none of these trends was sufficient to trigger the sovereign debt crisis. We argue that the main cause of the Greek crisis lies in the political economy of the Eurozone, and more particularly in its asymmetric governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, diverging demand and growth regimes received greater scholarly attention. Particularly, the intersection between variants of Comparative Political Economy and the post-Keynesian macroeconomic analysis provides a promising avenue for understanding the main dynamics of various growth regimes. Yet, the majority of these studies focused on the global North. We expand this analysis to the global South by examining eight large emerging capitalist economies (ECEs), Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey, during the periods 2000–2008 and 2009–2019. In so doing, we not only uncover the main demand and growth regimes of ECEs for the two periods but also link them to the main trends in the demand and growth regimes of developed capitalist economies (DCEs) for both periods. One main finding of our research is that ECEs did not follow the same path as DCEs after the Great Recession. While there was a clear shift in the demand and growth regimes of DCEs toward export orientation, the main pattern in the ECEs remained as the continuation of a trend that already emerged before the 2007–09 crisis, i.e., domestic demand-led regimes associated with considerable financial deficits of domestic private and/or public sectors. Finally, we provide some observations on the puzzle of resilient domestic demand-led regimes in ECEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supermultiplier model is gaining momentum. To become a cornerstone of modern macroeconomics, it should explain the dynamics of advanced market economies in a coherent, complete, and simple way. In particular, it is supposed to clarify the possibilities and limits of credit-driven economies, like the one observed in most advanced countries after 1995. This paper contributes to these goals by integrating the Sraffian supermultiplier with the post-Keynesian hypothesis of credit money endogeneity. This hypothesis is somehow modified when autonomous banks are able to accelerate credit above output growth, as happened after 2002. The gap between credit and output growth implies that a part of the loans is financing non-output transactions (land, old houses, shares), usually with a speculative bias. The consequences of a persistent gap are demand depression and asset inflation, as we observed after 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only twelve years after the global financial crisis, in 2020 the world was again in economic crisis. This time around, the source of the crisis was the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has affected the economy differently than the global financial crisis. However, as they were in 2008–2009, conventional macroeconomic theory and models have once again been found wanting, and economists have again turned for insights to the work of Keynes and more recent post-Keynesian scholars. This paper explores a simulation of the macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19 using the E3ME macro-econometric model. It describes two potential recovery packages, one of which could be described as 'green'. The modelling shows that the green recovery package could support the global economy and national labour markets through the recovery period, outperforming an equivalent conventional stimulus package while simultaneously reducing global CO2 emissions by 12%. A green recovery plan is assessed against a reference scenario with COVID-19. It outperforms a non-green recovery plan of comparable value, while also reducing CO2 emissions by up to 12% below the reference scenario (15% below no-COVID baseline). The policies in the green recovery plan provide different relative impacts. Car scrappage schemes that promote the uptake of electric vehicles have the largest impact on GDP and jobs. Renewables, energy efficiency and electric vehicle promotion all have large impacts on emissions. The green recovery plan boosts production levels in all sectors of the economy except for energy and utilities. It boosts the consumer services sector that has been most affected initially by the pandemic but also the investment sectors that could suffer longer-term damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connecting comparative political economy (CPE) approaches, as the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theory, with post-Keynesian (PK) research on different demand and growth regimes in modern capitalism has recently given rise to some interesting claims regarding differentiation and shifts of demand and growth regimes. However, we find some difficulties in the way PK approaches have been interpreted and integrated in modern CPE approaches. Therefore, we first provide a theoretically consistent and empirically applicable classification of demand and growth regimes under the conditions of finance-dominated capitalism, as it recently has been proposed by PK authors. Second, instead of using the traditional VoC dual classification, we focus on a more differentiated welfare model classification, which can be seen as different socio-institutional responses towards the challenges of globalisation and financialisation. For the period before the 2007-9 crisis, we link the PK demand and growth regimes with five socio-economic models identified by Hay and Wincott (2012), and thus provide an alternative approach. Third, going beyond the current debate, we examine the regime shifts after the 2007-9 global crisis with respect to the demand and growth regimes, and we also examine the changes within the welfare models. Whereas we find a clear pattern for the shift of demand and growth regimes, the changes in the welfare models are not as clear-cut. [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]

This work builds upon "Keynes, Kalecki and Metzler in a Dynamic Distribution Model". In that paper the dynamics of an economy from the ultra-short to the short period inside a Post-Keynesian perspective were studied questioning the general shared assumption of equilibrium between aggregate demand and aggregate supply in the short and long run Kaleckian models. This paper responds to some unresolved issues of the model proposed there considering a proper analysis of the Kaleckian investment function and a more realistic scenario with the presence of the government sector. Moreover, even if that model tried to deal with firms' expectations in producing goods, some values boundaries were exogenously established. Here, those boundaries are questioned again. In fact, the novelty of this work is that an active role of the government can actually influence both the values of the expectations and their respective boundaries. It is argued that is particularly the case when the government is engaged in policies which aim is to support and secure a high level of economic activity and to smooth and steer the cycles phases toward a sustainable development path. Particularly we focus on the role of different fiscal policies aimed at obtaining such goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apparently never-ending phase of economic slowdown that advanced economies have been experiencing in recent decades has recently contributed to the resurrection of the hoary old argument of 'secular stagnation'. In this paper, situated intellectually within the strand of research documenting the negative impact on growth of inequality and financialization, we elaborate on the idea that such a prolonged period of stagnation is associated with a new paradigm of socio-economic policy, known as 'finance-dominated capitalism'. In this way, we distance ourselves from the mainstream 'secular stagnation' narrative, adopting instead a post-Keynesian perspective that allows us to discuss the links between financialization and inequality, on one hand, and economic performance, on the other. Then, we submit our arguments to empirical scrutiny by undertaking an econometric analysis of 21 OECD countries between 1990 and 2016. The evidence indicates that excessive levels of financialization, along with high inequality and weak labor market institutions, have a negative impact on real growth. Based on our findings, we propose possible demand-side policies, to be implemented through expansionary fiscal measures, which could help sustain GDP growth and employment in the current context of stagnation, mitigating income inequality and sustaining an inclusive recovery at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over several decades, income has become increasingly concentrated at the top of the distributional pyramid in many rich countries. Raising taxes on top income earners and top wealth owners has gained traction in many policy circles as a way to reverse this inequality surge. This paper examines the views of mainstream economists, Thomas Piketty and Post-Keynesian economists concerning the impact of taxation and optimal tax policy. We show that, in terms of taxing the rich, these three perspectives have a great deal in common, but there are also many disagreements. We argue that Piketty occupies a middle ground between mainstream and Post-Keynesian economics, and there is a good deal that Piketty and these two schools can learn from one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While modeling macroeconomic interactions, post-Keynesians propose rationales to verbally motivate the choice of behavioral equations. This informal approach to microfoundation results in inconsistencies and fuzzy arguments. The rationales for different behavioral rules are mutually inconsistent, require strong and nontransparent assumptions, or refer to highly endogenous variables that are not part of the model. The postulated behavioral rules are invariant to endogenous changes in the microenvironment, whereas the rationales imply that they adjust endogenously. The prevailing assumption of purely backward-looking expectations is neither theoretically nor empirically satisfying. The article concludes that revisiting the issue of microfoundation within the post-Keynesian framework may be a rewarding line of research. Furthermore, post-Keynesians should be open to various microfoundations as long as models feature the core of post-Keynesian theory—the principle of effective demand. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Frederic Lee has been a major contributor to post-Keynesian economics, mainly to its theory of pricing. This article summarizes his objections to the neoclassical view of the firm and pricing, as well as his view that changes in quantities, rather than in prices, provide the important information to firms. It also outlines Lee's views on competition, and examines the three pricing doctrines Lee carefully analyzed—markup pricing (associated with Kalecki), normal-cost pricing or full-cost pricing (associated with Andrews), and target-return or administered pricing (associated with Means). The article then discusses the relationship between Lee and three strands of post-Keynesianism: Kaleckian, Sraffian and Eichnerian pricing theories. It explains why Lee objected to some features of each of these. The article concludes by discussing why, towards the end of his life, Lee felt (mistakenly) that his ideas had been dismissed by heterodox economists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We offer a framework for the economic analysis of corporate communication (CC) by relying on the concept of dynamic competition and the post-Keynesian theory of the firm. The concept of dynamic competition, based on rivalry between companies, encompasses the importance of information flows and CC in the environment, characterized by fundamental uncertainty. We contribute to the literature by developing a CC matrix used for classifying various CC practices on the basis of firms’ imperfect cognition processes and their attitude toward the stakeholders. Within the post-Keynesian theory of the firm, which has institutionalist origin, we show that transparent CC activities are a potentially powerful tool for the improvement of firms’ performance. We also show that, in Slovenia, the deceptive and non-transparent CC of many large firms and banks has negatively affected the business climate, consequently leading to the decline of the Slovenian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]