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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | Pavlina R. Tcherneva |
| Abstract: | The present paper offers a fundamental critique of fiscal policy as it is understood in theory and exercised in practice. Two specific demand-side stabilization methods are examined here: conventional pump priming and the new designation of fiscal policy effectiveness found in the New Consensus literature. A theoretical critique of their respective transmission mechanisms reveals that they operate in a trickle-down fashion that not only fails to secure and maintain full employment but also contributes to the increasing postwar labor market precariousness and the erosion of income inequality. The two conventional demand-side measures are then contrasted with the proposed alternative--a bottom-up approach to fiscal policy based on a reinterpretation of Keynes's original policy prescriptions for full employment. The paper offers a theoretical, methodological, and policy rationale for government intervention that includes specific direct-employment and investment initiatives, which are inherently different from contemporary hydraulic fine-tuning measures. It outlines the contours of the modern bottom-up approach and concludes with some of its advantages over conventional stabilization methods. |
| Keywords: | Full Employment; Fiscal Policy; Aggregate Demand; Business Cycles; Income Distribution; New Consensus |
| JEL: | E24 E25 E62 E63 J68 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_772&r=pke |
| By: | Egmont Kakarot-Handtke |
| Abstract: | Keynes had many plausible things to say about unemployment and its causes. His "mercurial mind," though, relied on intuition, which means that he could not strictly prove his hypotheses. This explains why Keynes's ideas immediately invited bastardizations. One of them, the Phillips curve synthesis, turned out to be fatal. This paper identifies Keynes's undifferentiated employment function as a sore spot. It is replaced by the structural employment function, which also supersedes the bastard Phillips curve. The paper demonstrates in a formal and rigorous manner why there is no trade-off between price inflation and unemployment. |
| Keywords: | New Framework of Concepts; Structure-centric; Axiom Set; Say's Regime; Keynes's Regime; Market Clearing; Full Employment; Product Price Flexibility; Intertemporal Budget Balancing; Multiplier; Trade-Off; Price Inflation; Wage Inflation |
| JEL: | E12 E24 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_773&r=pke |
| By: | Jonathan E. Alevy (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage); Paul Johnson (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage) |
| Abstract: | This computerized web experiment immerses students in an environment where they are in the role of bank managers, complementing existing experiments in which they act as depositors. The experiment is programmed to run on a variety of devices, including student’s phones and is suitable for use in intermediate macroeconomics or money and banking courses. Students learn the basic elements of bank balance sheets, the tradeoffs a bank makes when it hedges against liquidity risk, and the macroeconomic implications of the network aspects of the banking system. Key parameters are chosen by the instructor, and all results are saved as a spreadsheet data file. Early trials show that a team's performance is positively correlated with its success in managing interbank deposits. |
| Keywords: | asset pricing, laboratory experiments, advice |
| JEL: | A22 C92 E32 E44 G21 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ala:wpaper:2013-01&r=pke |
| By: | Irshad Ali (Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Law, Auckland University of Technology); Kevin Byard (Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Law, Auckland University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Increasingly, blogs are being used by educators in higher education for teaching and learning as they have numerous pedagogical benefits. This study describes and analyses the use of blogs as a private journal or e-portfolio for an assessment in a first year bachelor of business programme. Three hundred and fifty students answered an online questionnaire exploring their perceptions of blogs as an assessment tool, in particular ease of use and impact on learning and skills development. Students found numerous benefits of using blogs such as ease of submitting work, increased ownership of learning, and being able to check and improve their work on a regular basis. They also reported that the use of blogs provided flexibility in completing tasks, helped get feedback from lecturers, and increased the quality and quantity of their work. However, there was a lack of consensus on whether blog use improved writing ability of students, increased dialogue between students and lecturers or increased student interest in learning. The challenge for those contemplating using blogs for similar purposes is to ensure that students are provided with sufficient instructions, and constructive, timely feedback. |
| Keywords: | blogs, private journal, higher education |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aut:wpaper:201306&r=pke |