Keynesianism and post-Keynesianism in consumer choice theory

Economic crises disrupt the stable course of economic development and force the population to change established patterns of behavior. Under the pressure of a crisis, standard economic theory becomes inapplicable. Concerning this background, the relevance of Keynesian theory and the post-Keynesian concepts related to it increases, offering a description of patterns of economic behavior in unstable conditions. The novelty of the work is determined by the poorly developed theories of consumer choice in the Russian economic literature. The purpose of this study is to systematize scientific concepts related to Keynesian theory, chosen as a methodological framework for analyzing consumer behavior and consumer choice in crisis. The article presents a description of Keynes’ theory, highlighting the theoretical aspects that have the greatest value for analyzing economic behavior. Based on certain aspects of Keynesian theory, the macro-behavioral framework of Keynes was formed, in which psychological and behavioral patterns of economic behavior were integrated into macroeconomic analysis. Special attention is paid to the theory and factors of consumer function, as one of the most important tools for analyzing shifts in consumption under the influence of income. The article describes the information economy and the irrational principle, developed within the framework of the new Keynesianism. It is shown how information can change the vector of consumer behavior in a crisis period. It is emphasized that in crisis, the role of irrational principles increases, leading to unprofitable steps in consumer spending. The article describes M. Lavoie’s post-Keynesian theory of consumer choice, which combines the behavioral and socio-economic foundations of consumer behavior. As a result of highlighting the main aspects of Lavoie’s theory and the concepts of Friedman and Modigliani, it is shown that the post-Keynesian theory of consumer choice can be adapted to describe consumer behavior against the background of a crisis. The principles of the post-Keynesian theory of consumer choice are analyzed and a modification of these principles is proposed considering the crisis.