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Searching for Keynesianism

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  • Winer, Stanley L.
  • Ferris, J. Stephen

Abstract

While it is clear that Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) has influenced macroeconomic theory, the extent to which his ideas about countercyclical stabilization have altered the course of public policy remains an open question. We develop a dynamic spatial voting model that allows the estimation of a counterfactual showing what planned public budgets would have been like over the cycle if Keynesianism (as interpreted by Leijonhufvud and Clower) had not had any impact on the course of public affairs. Comparison of the counterfactual with the estimated process describing ex ante policy choices after 1950 in Canada allows for the quantification of the changes in fiscal policy that can be attributed to the Keynesian revolution.

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  • Winer, Stanley L. & Ferris, J. Stephen, 2008. "Searching for Keynesianism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 294-316, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:24:y:2008:i:2:p:294-316
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    Cited by:

    1. J. Ferris & Soo-Bin Park & Stanley Winer, 2008. "Studying the role of political competition in the evolution of government size over long horizons," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 369-401, October.
    2. James B. Davies & Stanley L. Winer, 2011. "Closing the 49th Parallel: An Unexplored Episode in Canadian Economic and Political History," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 37(3), pages 307-341, September.
    3. J Stephen Ferris & Stanley L. Winer, 2018. "Political Competitiveness and Fiscal Structure: A Time Series Analysis. Canada, 1870 - 2015," CESifo Working Paper Series 7220, CESifo.
    4. J. Ferris & Stanley Winer & Bernard Grofman, 2012. "Do departures from democratic accountability compromise the stability of public finances? Keynesianism, central banking, and minority governments in the Canadian system of party government, 1867–2009," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 213-243, September.
    5. Ferris, J. Stephen & Voia, Marcel C., 2015. "The effect of federal government size on private economic performance in Canada: 1870–2011," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 172-185.
    6. J. Stephen Ferris & Marcel-Cristian Voia, 2014. "Does Aggregate Government Size Effect Private Economic Performance in Canada?," Carleton Economic Papers 14-13, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    7. Voia, Marcel-Cristian & Ferris, J. Stephen, 2013. "Do business cycle peaks predict election calls in Canada?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 102-118.
    8. J. Stephen Ferris, 2010. "Fiscal Policy from a Public Choice Perspective," Carleton Economic Papers 10-10, Carleton University, Department of Economics.

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