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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | MatÍas Vernengo; Esteban Ramon Perez Caldentey |
| Abstract: | The current debate on the causes of inflation is dominated by a particular view of what caused the inflationary acceleration in the 1970s, the so-called Great Inflation. In this view inflation is always and everywhere a demand phenomenon and requires contractionary monetary policy to be kept under control. The alternative view put forward by many heterodox authors emphasize what might be termed the oligopolistic view of inflation. In this paper we trace the limitations of both views for the center and the periphery. |
| Keywords: | Center-periphery, conflict inflation, corporate power, excess demand, supply-side shocks |
| JEL: | E12 E31 E52 O11 |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2302&r=pke |
| By: | Mark Gertler; Christopher Huckfeldt; Antonella Trigari |
| Abstract: | We revisit the role of temporary layoffs in the business cycle, motivated by their unprecedented surge during the pandemic recession.We first measure the contribution of temporary layoffs to unemployment dynamics over the period 1979 to the present. While many have emphasized a stabilizing effect due to recall hiring, we quantify an important destabilizing effect due to “loss-of-recall”, whereby workers in temporary-layoff unemployment lose their job permanently and do so at higher rates in recessions. We then develop a quantitative model that allows for endogenous flows of workers across employment and both temporary-layoff and jobless unemployment. The model captures well pre-pandemic unemployment dynamics and shows how loss-of-recall enhances the recessionary contribution of temporary layoffs. We also show that with some modification the model can capture the pandemic recession. We then use our structural model to show that the Paycheck Protection program generated significant employment gains. It did so in part by significantly reducing loss-of-recall. |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:682&r=pke |
| By: | Jon D. Wisman |
| Abstract: | Thorstein Veblen gave special attention to work. He claimed that an instinct of workmanship "...is present in all men, and asserts itself even under very adverse circumstances... [It] is the court of final appeal in any question of economic truth or adequacy." Although many scholars have examined Veblen's claim, this article differs by examining his conception of work in light of findings from anthropology, evolutionary psychology, and happiness research. The questions explored are: Why and how did Veblen understand work as instinctual and did his understanding conform to Charles Darwin's concept of instincts? Is it an instinct that evolved to be pleasurable or to gain respect and status to motivate provisioning? If evidence supports the claim that work did indeed evolve to be pleasurable, and today much of it is not, then its restructuring should be a top social priority. Although Veblen's understanding of work provides inadequate guidance as to how it should be restructured, he was pathbreaking in insisting that our understanding of this question, and of human behavior and society more generally, must be grounded in the evolutionary biology launched by Darwin. Accordingly, a second aim of this article is to offer support for Veblen's attempt to do so. |
| Keywords: | instinct of workmanship; Darwinism; institutions; anthropology of work; happiness; research |
| JEL: | A13 B15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amu:wpaper:2023-03&r=pke |
| By: | Fix, Blair |
| Abstract: | In my last post, I looked at the relation between economic growth and inflation. As per usual, the evidence didn’t sit well with mainstream economics. According to standard theory, there is a trade off between low inflation and high economic growth. The idea is that you can have one or the other, but not both. So if you want to keep inflation low, you have to ‘cool off’ the economy by slowing economic growth. (Like many things in economics, this idea comes from the totem of supply and demand.) The trouble is, the empirical evidence shows that the opposite is true. Rather than being driven by ‘excessive’ economic growth, inflation tends to come during periods of stagnation. So despite what mainstream economists proclaim, there is little evidence for a ‘growth-inflation trade off’. Instead, ‘stagflation’ seems to be the norm. Now, the question is why? Soon after I published ‘Is Stagflation the Norm?’ several readers pointed out that I should take a look at causation. The idea is that we want to know what drives what. Does (low) inflation drive (high) economic growth? Or does (low) economic growth drive (high) inflation? Well, I’ve done the math, and the results may surprise you. But before we get there, let’s take a look at what the theory of capital as power has to say about the causes of inflation. |
| Keywords: | causality, energy growth, inflation, stagflation |
| JEL: | P16 P18 E31 O11 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:268412&r=pke |
| By: | Charlotte Bartels (DIW); Felix Kersting (Humboldt University Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We study the dynamics of capital accumulation, income inequality, capital concentration, and voting up to 1914. Based on new panel data for Prussian regions, we re-evaluate the famous Revisionism Debate between orthodox Marxists and their critics. We show that changes in capital accumulation led to a rise in the capital share and income inequality, as predicted by orthodox Marxists. But against their predictions, this did neither lead to further capital concentration nor to more votes for the socialists. Instead, trade unions and strike activity limited income inequality and fostered political support for socialism, as argued by the Revisionists. |
| Keywords: | Income Inequality, Concentration, Top Incomes, Capital Share, Capital Accumulation; |
| JEL: | D31 D63 J31 N30 |
| Date: | 2023–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:380&r=pke |