Post-Keynesian institutionalism: past, present, and future

Post-Keynesian institutionalism (PKI) is a branch of institutional economics that draws on the common ground shared by many institutionalists and post-Keynesians. PKI emerged in the USA in the 1980s; attracted considerable attention during the Internet boom and crash (roughly from 1995 through 2002); and offered vital economic insight to address the global financial crisis of 2007–2009. This article presents a two-part examination of PKI: the first part surveys PKI’s origins and development; the second highlights existing contributions in the course of outlining directions for future PKI research. PKI began with a focus on understanding business cycles and seeking to prevent or contain economic downturns; over time, attention also centered on structural economic changes and the spread of worker insecurity. In the coming years, scholarship in those areas must be complemented by—indeed, carried out in tandem with—contributions that shed light on the problem of global warming and the widespread consequences of climate change.