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Back to Keynes?

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  • Frederick Van der Ploeg

Abstract

After a brief review of classical, Keynesian, New Classical and New Keynesian theories of macroeconomic policy, we assess whether New Keynesian Economics captures the quintessential features stressed by J.M. Keynes. Particular attention is paid to Keynesian features omitted in New Keynesian workhorses such as the micro-founded Keynesian multiplier and the New Keynesian Phillips curve. These theories capture wage and price sluggishness and aggregate demand externalities by departing from a competitive framework and give a key role to expectations. The main deficiencies, however, are the inability to predict a pro-cyclical real wage in the face of demand shocks, the absence of inventories, credit constraints and bankruptcies in explaining the business cycle, and no effect of the nominal as well as the real interest rate on aggregate demand. Furthermore, they fail to allow for quantity rationing and to model unemployment as a catastrophic event. The macroeconomics based on the New Keynesian Phillips curve has quite a way to go before the quintessential Keynesian features are captured.

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  • Frederick Van der Ploeg, 2005. "Back to Keynes?," CESifo Working Paper Series 1424, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1424
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    2. Argesanu, Nicolae Razvan, 2012. "Statul de drept din perspectivă economică [Rule of law from economic perspective]," MPRA Paper 36643, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Roberto Tamborini, 2006. "Back to Wicksell? In search of the foundations of practical monetary policy," Department of Economics Working Papers 0602, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
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    6. Roberto Tamborini, 2010. "The Macroeconomics of Imperfect Capital Markets: Whither Saving-Investment Imbalances?," Contributions to Economics, in: Giorgio Calcagnini & Enrico Saltari (ed.), The Economics of Imperfect Markets, chapter 0, pages 137-166, Springer.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Keynesian economics; New Keynesian Phillips curve; monopolistic competition; nominal wage rigidity; welfare; pro-cyclical real wage; inventories; liquidity; bankruptcy; unemployment; monetary policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy

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