IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imk/fmmpap/33-2018.html

The economics of the super-multiplier

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Palley

Abstract

This paper links the super-multiplier to Keynesian macroeconomics, showing it to be the most Keynesian of growth perspectives. Next, the paper shows that the super-multiplier is a micro-economically coherent theory of investment and capital accumulation. Firms' decisions regarding capital accumulation coordinate demand and supply growth in goods markets. The paper then explores the implications of incorporating the super-multiplier in the Neo-Kaleckian and Cambridge growth models. Lastly, it shows how labor markets and unemployment can be added into super-multiplier models to provide a comprehensive growth model that addresses Solow's (1956) labor market knife-edge problem. Incorporating labor markets does not change the fundamental super-multiplier result that growth is determined by the growth of autonomous demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Palley, 2018. "The economics of the super-multiplier," FMM Working Paper 33-2018, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:imk:fmmpap:33-2018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_fmm_imk_wp_33_2018.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olivier Allain, 2013. "Tackling the instability of growth: A Kaleckian model with autonomous demand expenditures," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00821080, HAL.
    2. Franklin Serrano & Fabio Freitas, 2017. "The Sraffian supermultiplier as an alternative closure for heterodox growth theory," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(1), pages 70-91, April.
    3. Thomas I. Palley, 2012. "Growth, Unemployment And Endogenous Technical Progress: A Hicksian Resolution Of Harrod'S Knife-Edge," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 512-541, July.
    4. Olivier Allain, 2015. "Tackling the instability of growth: a Kaleckian-Harrodian model with an autonomous expenditure component," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 39(5), pages 1351-1371.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    6. Marc Lavoie, 2016. "Convergence Towards the Normal Rate of Capacity Utilization in Neo-Kaleckian Models: The Role of Non-Capacity Creating Autonomous Expenditures," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 172-201, February.
    7. Christian Schoder, 2014. "Effective Demand, Exogenous Normal Utilization and Endogenous Capacity in the Long Run: Evidence from a Cointegrated Vector Autoregression Analysis for the USA," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 298-320, May.
    8. Sergio Cesaratto, 2017. "Garegnani, Ackley and the years of high theory at Svimez," Centro Sraffa Working Papers CSWP26, Centro di Ricerche e Documentazione 'Piero Sraffa'.
    9. Fabio Freitas & Franklin Serrano, 2015. "Growth Rate and Level Effects, the Stability of the Adjustment of Capacity to Demand and the Sraffian Supermultiplier," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 258-281, July.
    10. Serrano, Franklin, 1995. "Long Period Effective Demand and the Sraffian Supermultiplier," Contributions to Political Economy, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(0), pages 67-90.
    11. Steven M Fazzari & Piero Ferri & Anna Maria Variato, 2020. "Demand-led growth and accommodating supply," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 44(3), pages 583-605.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eric Kemp‐Benedict, 2020. "Convergence of actual, warranted, and natural growth rates in a Kaleckian–Harrodian‐classical model," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(4), pages 851-881, November.
    2. Óscar Dejuán & John S.L. McCombie, 2018. "The Supermultiplier-Cum-Finance. Economic Limits of a Credit Driven System," Centro Sraffa Working Papers CSWP32, Centro di Ricerche e Documentazione 'Piero Sraffa'.
    3. Piero Ferri & Fabio Tramontana, 2022. "Autonomous demand, multiple equilibria and unemployment dynamics," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 17(1), pages 209-223, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gahn, Santiago José, 2021. "On the adjustment of capacity utilisation to aggregate demand: Revisiting an old Sraffian critique to the Neo-Kaleckian model," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 325-360.
    2. Olivier Allain, 2021. "A supermultiplier model of the natural rate of growth," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 612-634, July.
    3. Steven M Fazzari & Piero Ferri & Anna Maria Variato, 2020. "Demand-led growth and accommodating supply," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 44(3), pages 583-605.
    4. Eckhard Hein & Ryan Woodgate, 2021. "Stability issues in Kaleckian models driven by autonomous demand growth—Harrodian instability and debt dynamics," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 388-404, May.
    5. José A. Pérez‐Montiel & Carles Manera, 2022. "Is autonomous demand really autonomous in the United States? An asymmetric frequency‐domain Granger causality approach," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 78-92, February.
    6. Fazzari, Steven M. & González, Alejandro, 2025. "How large are hysteresis effects? Estimates from a Keynesian growth model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    7. Allain, Olivier, 2022. "A supermultiplier model with two non-capacity-generating semi-autonomous demand components," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 91-103.
    8. Ettore Gallo & Maria Cristina Barbieri Góes, 2023. "Investment, autonomous demand and long-run capacity utilization: an empirical test for the Euro Area," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(1), pages 225-255, April.
    9. Gallo, Ettore & Zamparelli, Luca, 2025. "Harrodian Instability and Induced Technical Change," MPRA Paper 125533, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Daniele Girardi & Riccardo Pariboni, 2020. "Autonomous demand and the investment share," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 8(3), pages 428-453, July.
    11. Guilherme Haluska & Julia Braga & Ricardo Summa, 2021. "Growth, investment share and the stability of the Sraffian Supermultiplier model in the U.S. economy (1985–2017)," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 345-364, May.
    12. Barbieri Góes, Maria Cristina & Deleidi, Matteo, 2022. "Output determination and autonomous demand multipliers: An empirical investigation for the US economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    13. Nomaler, Önder & Spinola, Danilo & Verspagen, Bart, 2021. "R&D-based economic growth in a supermultiplier model," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1-19.
    14. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Amitava Krishna Dutt, 2017. "Heterodox Theories Of Economic Growth And Income Distribution: A Partial Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1240-1271, December.
    15. Eckhard Hein & Valeria Jimenez, 2022. "The macroeconomic implications of zero growth: a post-Keynesian approach," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 19(1), pages 41-60, April.
    16. Stephen Thompson, 2022. "“The total movement of this disorder is its order”: Investment and utilization dynamics in long‐run disequilibrium," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 638-682, May.
    17. Pedrosa, Ítalo & Brochier, Lídia & Freitas, Fabio, 2023. "Debt hierarchy: Autonomous demand composition, growth and indebtedness in a Supermultiplier model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    18. Nomaler, Önder & Spinola, Danilo & Verspagen, Bart, 2020. "Schumpeter and Keynes: Economic growth in a super-multiplier model," MERIT Working Papers 2020-049, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. Deleidi, Matteo & Mazzucato, Mariana, 2021. "Directed innovation policies and the supermultiplier: An empirical assessment of mission-oriented policies in the US economy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(2).
    20. Matteo Deleidi & Claudia Fontanari & Santiago José Gahn, 2023. "Autonomous demand and technical change: exploring the Kaldor–Verdoorn law on a global level," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(1), pages 57-80, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imk:fmmpap:33-2018. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sabine Nemitz (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fmbocde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.