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Touching from a distance: towards a common conception of equilibrium in Post Keynesian economics

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  • Mark Setterfield

    (Department of Economics, New School For Social Research, USA)

Abstract

This paper discusses Victoria Chick's concepts of provisional equilibrium and long run equilibrium of action. Attention is paid to the relationship between these concepts and other strands of thinking in Post Keynesian theory, as well as the relationship of the two concepts to one another. With respect to the latter, it is argued that a long run equilibrium of action is provisional, while provisional equilibrium outcomes in a Post Keynesian system can and should be thought of as depending on a long run equilibrium of action. As such, Chick's writings can be regarded as the source of a consistent vision of both short- and long-term equilibrium in Post Keynesian theory, this vision, in turn, being consistent with her preferred open-systems ontology.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Setterfield, 2025. "Touching from a distance: towards a common conception of equilibrium in Post Keynesian economics," Working Papers 2508, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:new:wpaper:2508
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Setterfield, 1997. "Should Economists Dispense with the Notion of Equilibrium?," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 47-76, September.
    2. Ettore Gallo & Mark Setterfield, 2023. "Joan Robinson’s historical time and the current state of post-Keynesian growth theory," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(5), pages 965-984.
    3. Sheila C. Dow & Victoria Chick, 2012. "The Meaning of Open Systems," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foundations for New Economic Thinking, chapter 11, pages 178-196, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Chick, Victoria & Dow, Sheila C, 2001. "Formalism, Logic and Reality: A Keynesian Analysis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 25(6), pages 705-721, November.
    5. Marc Lavoie, 2013. "Sraffians, other Post-Keynesians, and the Controversy over Centres of Gravitation," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Enrico Sergio Levrero & Antonella Palumbo & Antonella Stirati (ed.), Sraffa and the Reconstruction of Economic Theory: Volume Three, chapter 2, pages 34-54, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Sheila Dow, 2023. "Victoria Chick 1936–2023," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 486-490, May.
    7. Mark Setterfield, 1997. "Rapid Growth and Relative Decline," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37587-1, November.
    8. Maria Cristina Marcuzzo & Constantinos Repapis & Jan Toporowski, 2024. "Victoria Chick (1936–2023), a Restless Challenger to Mainstream Economics: An Appreciation," Contributions to Political Economy, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 43(1), pages 1-20.
    9. Kregel, J A, 1976. "Economic Methodology in the Face of Uncertainty: The Modelling Methods of Keynes and the Post-Keynesians," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 86(342), pages 209-225, June.
    10. Asimakopulos,A., 1991. "Keynes's General Theory and Accumulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521368155, May.
    11. Harrod, Roy, 1970. "Harrod after Twenty-one Years: A Comment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 80(319), pages 737-741, September.
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    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory

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