Macroeconomics
Where are we
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9256962 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wallace C Peterson (University of Nebraska–Lincoln, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 64-76 |
| Publication date | 1987-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of Social Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-6764 • E-ISSN: 1470-1162 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00346768700000005 |
| OpenAlex | W2030219451 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 7 |
In the introduction to his provocative book, John Maynard Keynes, Washington University Professor Hyman Minsky says: There are times in the intellectual history of a discipline when its theoretical house is in good order; at other times this house is in disarray. [Minsky, p. vii] This accurately describes the state of contemporary economics. Such disarray has not always been with us. In the 1960s, especially during the Ken? nedy presidency, a broad consensus existed on the content and utility of macroeconomic theory. Today, however, the unity that once prevailed in the house of macroeconomics is shattered. To use Thomas Kuhn's fash? ionable terminology, there is a crisis and the reigning macroeconomic paradigm is being challenged. It is this crisis that this paper explores. The point of departure for this analysis is what is still the central unresolved philosophic issue in macroeconomic theory: the extent to which the modern market economy is a self-regulating system, one which left to its own devices will settle down and grow steadily in a manner which utilizes all its resources, including labor. How this issue is resolved determines the kinds of policy measures we adopt. The irony is that this is the same issue that divided economics in the 1930s. In a 1935 article in The New Republic, John Maynard Keynes said that the basic gulf in economics was between those who believed that in the long-run the economic system is self-adjusting and those who didn't. [Keynes, 1955, pp. 35-37] In this particular article, which antedated The Gen? eral Theory, Keynes aligned himself with the heretics ? those who questioned the self-adjusting view ? and hinted that he was developing an alternative theory. From an historical perspective, two fundamental and very broad have emerged in macroeconomics to address the question of self-regulation. By vision is meant a rough model of how the economy works in a macroeconomic context ? what forces determine output, employment, the price level, and growth. A brief overview of these alternative visions provides an appropriate backdrop for this discussion of competing macroeconomic theories
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,08 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 2024 (35) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |