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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | Engelbert Stockhammer; Quirin Dammerer; Andreas Maschke |
| Abstract: | This paper charts the rise and decline of post-Keynesian economics (PKE) in Austria. Keynesianism arrives in Austria via economic policy debates in social democratic circles where it is used to develop a policy strategy later known as Austro-Keynesianism. PKE gets a foothold at the Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitut (WIFO), Austria’s foremost applied economics research institute, and the Chamber of Labour, before establishing itself at the University of Linz. Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s the centre of gravity shifts from Linz to the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (WU). During the same period, a lot of applied and policy-oriented research is carried out at WIFO, most of it in German. In the 2000s a blooming of heterodox economics occurs at WU, followed by a rapid dissolution of the heterodox community there. Since around 2010 mainstream economics has reasserted itself and PKE is no longer present at economics departments across Austria. Many of the current generation of post-Keynesian scholars either work abroad, in other disciplines, or in policy-oriented institutions. The main themes of Austrian PKE include income and wealth distribution, finance and financialisation, and ecological economics. In a comparative perspective, the intricate link between the post-Keynesian academic milieu and progressive economic policy is particularly interesting. |
| Keywords: | Keynesianism, post-Keynesian economics, Austro-Keynesianism, Austria, economic policy |
| JEL: | B20 B24 B51 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2503 |
| By: | Eckhard Hein; Moritz Marpe; Karolina Schütt |
| Abstract: | Ederer/Rehm (2020b) empirically calibrated long-run equilibrium wealth distribution for ten European countries, mainly using 2010 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) data. Measuring wealth inequality through the capitalists’ share of wealth, they find that seven out of ten countries deviate from Piketty’s (2014) prediction that under the condition of r > g wealth distribution will become ever more unequal. With the actual capitalists’ share in 2010 below the calibrated equilibrium, however, they forecast increasing wealth inequality. Our research extends this analysis in two ways. Firstly, using the 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2021 HFCS data, we recalibrate the equilibrium based on 2010 data and track the capitalists’ share of wealth over the decade. We observe convergence tendencies towards the stable long-run equilibrium in some but not in all countries. Secondly, we expand the Ederer/Rehm (2020b) model to include real estate assets and mortgage debt. Recalibrating the long-run equilibrium for this extended model using 2010 values produces a similar pattern: For three countries, Piketty’s prediction holds, while for the remaining seven the equilibrium capitalists’ wealth share is lower than 100 per cent. The extended model shows a much lower actual capitalists’ share of wealth, supporting the idea that real estate assets, adjusted for mortgage debt, are more equally distributed than other types of wealth. Wealth inequality for the extended model is also predicted to rise. Based on 2014, 2017 and 2021 HFCS data, we indeed find a convergence of actual wealth distribution towards the stable long-run equilibrium for some, but not for all countries. In several countries, the stable long-run equilibrium distribution itself varies over time, partly in line with actual distribution which points to potential endogeneity of the former towards the latter. The channels remain to be explored. |
| Keywords: | Wealth distribution, post-Kaleckian model, model calibration |
| JEL: | D31 E12 E21 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2506 |
| By: | Biagio Bossone |
| Abstract: | This article investigates whether an economy with perfectly flexible prices and wages can experience persistent unemployment, challenging classical and neoclassical views that markets clear efficiently through price adjustments. Adopting a strictly neoclassical framework, but differing from other contributions, the article explores how conventional beliefs shape macroeconomic outcomes. It demonstrates that a recessionary shock can lead to prolonged unemployment when agents adhere to a Keynesian Conventional Belief (KCB), in contrast to the self-correcting outcomes associated with the Walrasian Conventional Belief (WCB). The article concludes that if agents operating in a neoclassical economy hold Keynesian beliefs, the economy's response to shocks will be influenced by these beliefs, resulting in Keynesian outcomes. This analysis underscores the potential of policies targeting nominal stability to stabilize expectations and support full employment while cautioning against excessive reliance on fiscal and monetary interventions in structurally weak economies. Aligning with Keynes’s original policy vision, the article advocates combining “counter-cyclical” macroeconomic policies with “anti-cyclical” public-sector actions to enhance the economy’s productivity and growth potential. |
| Keywords: | Expectations formation; Involuntary unemployment; Macroeconomic policies; Recessionary shock; Self-fulfilling equilibria |
| JEL: | D51 E12 E13 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2504 |
| By: | Filippo Pietrini |
| Abstract: | This paper adopts the synthetic control method to empirically tests Willis thesis that †the major breakthrough" (Willis, 1977, p. 420) in the dissemination of Marx in England was the publication of the first volume of Capital in English in 1887. The specificities of late Victorian society and the fact that Marx wrote his theoretical works in German contributed to his anonymity in England up the 1880s-1890s. The liberal-radical roots of the left-wing intellectuals and of the working class movements together with the strong parlamentary tradition constituted a challenging environment for the spread of Marxism. After having downloaded data from Google Ngram, I run the SC model. Findings reveal that the 1886 is the breakthrough year for the quotations of Marx in England. Willis’s thesis on 1887 as the decisive year is thus slighlty anticipated by the quantitative result. Rather, two events that possibly revived Marx’s quotations were the publication of the first 10 chapters of ‘Capital’ in Hyndman’s newly bought and renamed “To-Day: Monthly Magazine of Scientific Socialism†and the Trafalgrar Riots (also known as West end riots or Pall Mall riots) of February 1886, an event that broadened the perception of socialist imminence to the average public. |
| Keywords: | Marx Dissemination, Synthetic Control Method, Victorian zeitgeist, Modern socialism |
| JEL: | B14 B24 B51 Z10 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2025_01.rdf |
| By: | Hanrieder, Tine |
| Abstract: | In modern capitalism, the costs of care and social reproduction are widely externalised to women in households, but also to (women in) community organisations. This article analyses the role of community medicine in the US, and in particular the labour and struggles of community health workers (CHWs). Highlighting the gendered and raced inequalities of US welfare capitalism, I explore how CHWs sustain individuals and communities through three main forms of repair work: Safety net plugging is the often-invisible work of addressing unmet community needs; bridging is the work of intermediating between (punitive) state authorities and oppressed communities; and transforming lived experience is the devalued personal work of turning discrimination into care. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in the US with a focus on California, my findings stress the laboriousness of caring in a punitive welfare state, and the devaluation of doing so in a ‘meritocratic', credentials-centred social order. I argue that CHWs' repair work might be a cost effective ‘fix’ for the health system, but that their struggle for professional recognition also challenges ingrained, racialised concepts of merit and professionalism. Their struggles connect with broader debates about reparative justice, repair, and labour value in our current socio-ecological crises. |
| Keywords: | racial capitalism; care; social reproduction; labour; global health; community health workers; welfare state |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2025–01–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126955 |
| By: | Burschel, Maria |
| Abstract: | Background and Objective: This paper posits that market-oriented economies foster narcissistic behavior due to their focus on profit, private ownership, competition, and free markets. The research presented demonstrates that while overall levels of narcissism remain stable, certain political groups and leaders exhibit higher levels of narcissism compared to the general population. Due to the visibility and attention-seeking nature of narcissistic individuals, values such as self-promotion, prioritizing personal gain, blame-shifting, diminishing others, and populist rhetoric become normalized. These trends contribute to right-wing populism, social injustice, and climate change denial. The paper elaborates on the dynamics of narcissism and the use of gaslighting as a manipulation tactic to scapegoat particularly vulnerable societal groups and the field of Social Work itself. Conclusions will be substantiated with examples from politics and business, highlighting the risks posed by narcissistic leaders. The article aims to offer a framework for understanding the rise of right-wing populism in Europe and the USA, which may hinder progress towards a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable society. Method: The article is based on an integrative literature review. Conclusion: The article suggests considering human personality when selecting leaders and analyzing political movements. It highlights the role of social work in forming social and economic structures that encourage empathic, responsible, and diligent behavior rather than narcissistic behavior. The article notes the need for further research to support social change and innovation. Additionally, it offers recommendations for policymakers, educators, and social workers. |
| Keywords: | Narcissism, capitalism, transformation, sustainability |
| JEL: | P |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iubhso:311208 |
| By: | Diab, Osama |
| Abstract: | By emphasising the role of historical contingency in determining the losers and winners of economic interaction, the article argues that barter terms of trade (BTT) evolution is key to understanding central phenomena of the modern capitalist era apart from Weberian and Sombartian culturalist interpretations. By examining BTT data between Egypt and Britain in the long 19th century, the article demonstrates how it was a rational choice by an independent economy to commit to a 'peripheral' comparative advantage as future value evolution could not have been predicted at the onset of such commitment. Relying on previously unpublished archival records, the article also explores the role of empire and political power in determining supply and demand and hence value evolution, challenging neoclassical assumptions about the central role of consumer choice in influencing supply, demand and commodity value. The article argues that the BTT evolution is key to understanding two central phenomena of the modern capitalist era away from Weberian- and Sombartian-style culturalist interpretations. First is the growing uneven development–known as the Great Divergence–between the 'core' and the 'periphery' of the global economic system, and second is the rise of anti-colonial sentiments and policies in the Global South. |
| Date: | 2023–06–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:africa:g69ed_v1 |