IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbp/nbpmis/295.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Kalecki’s critique of wicksellianism and the miss-specification of negative interest rates

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Toporowski

    (Faculty of Law & Social Sciences SOAS, University of London)

Abstract

This paper examines the logic of the arguments for negative interest rates. These arise from a Wicksellian theoretical framework that attributes low investment to a ‘natural’ or ‘real’ rate of interest (that is the rate of profit on real investments) that is below the money rate of interest. At near zero money rates of interest the low investment is presumed to be caused by a negative natural rate of interest. The paper outlines Kalecki’s reasons for believing that in fact the rate of profit for the economy as a whole is in general positive and, in any case, the rate of profit is differentiated in the economy by industry and firm. This removes the Wicksellian rationale for negative interest rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Toporowski, 2018. "Kalecki’s critique of wicksellianism and the miss-specification of negative interest rates," NBP Working Papers 295, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbp:nbpmis:295
    Note: I am grateful for comments on an earlier draft of this paper from Charles Goodhart, Peter Kriesler, David Laidler, and Zbigniew Polański. Their generosity leaves me with sole responsibility for any errors remaining in this paper.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://static.nbp.pl/publikacje/materialy-i-studia/295_en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shaikh, Anwar, 2016. "Capitalism: Competition, Conflict, Crises," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199390632.
    2. John C. Williams, 2016. "Monetary Policy in a Low R-star World," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mark Knell & Simone Vannuccini, 2022. "Tools and concepts for understanding disruptive technological change after Schumpeter," Jena Economics Research Papers 2022-005, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    2. Stefano Di Bucchianico, 2020. "A note on financialization from a Classical-Keynesian standpoint," Department of Economics University of Siena 824, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    3. 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.
    4. Enrico Sergio Levrero & Giacomo Sbrenna, 2022. "Some Factors Affecting US Capital Profitability over the Last Decades," Bulletin of Political Economy, Bulletin of Political Economy, vol. 16(2), pages 77-101, December.
    5. Honkapohja, Seppo & Mitra, Kaushik, 2020. "Price level targeting with evolving credibility," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 88-103.
    6. Phil Armstrong, 2020. "Can Heterodox Economics Make a Difference?," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 19964.
    7. Jacobo, Juan, 2022. "A multi time-scale theory of economic growth and cycles," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 143-155.
    8. Philippe Andrade & Jordi Gali & Herve Le Bihan & Julien Matheron, 2019. "The Optimal Inflation Target and the Natural Rate of Interest," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 50(2 (Fall)), pages 173-255.
    9. Luis Daniel Torres-González, 2020. "The Characteristics of the Productive Structure Behind the Empirical Regularities in Production Prices Curves," Working Papers 2016, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    10. Ugo Rossi, 2019. "The common-seekers: Capturing and reclaiming value in the platform metropolis," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 37(8), pages 1418-1433, December.
    11. Cauvel, Michael & Pacitti, Aaron, 2022. "Bargaining power, structural change, and the falling U.S. labor share," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 512-530.
    12. Jung, Kuk Mo, 2018. "Uncertainty-induced dynamic inefficiency and the optimal inflation rate," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 486-506.
    13. Fanti, Lucrezia, 2018. "An AB-SFC Model of Induced Technical Change along Classical and Keynesian Lines," MPRA Paper 86645, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. John C. Williams, 2016. "Longview: The Economic Outlook," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    15. Carina Altreiter & Claudius Graebner & Stephan Puehringer & Ana Rogojanu & Georg Wolfmayr, 2020. "Theorizing competition: an interdisciplinary framework," ICAE Working Papers 120, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    16. Riccardo Zolea, 2024. "An introduction to the distributional role of bank credit to workers in a surplus approach framework," Working Papers PKWP2403, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    17. Leila Davis & Joao Paulo A. de Souza, 2022. "Churning and profitability in the U.S. corporate sector," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 924-957, July.
    18. Luis Daniel Torres-Gonzalez & Jacobo Ferrer-Hernandez & Adrian Martınez, 2022. "On the Long-Run Neutrality of Profits-Wages Ratios in the Determination of International Relative Prices Under Absolute Advantages," Working Papers 2208, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    19. Walter Paternesi Meloni & Antonella Stirati, 2021. "What has driven the delinking of wages from productivity? A political economy-based investigation for high-income economies," Working Papers PKWP2104, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    20. Di Bucchianico, Stefano, 2019. "The Impact of Financialization on the Rate of Profit: A Discussion," Centro Sraffa Working Papers CSWP36, Centro di Ricerche e Documentazione "Piero Sraffa".

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Kalecki; monetary theory; rate of interest;
    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
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

    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:nbp:nbpmis:295. 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: Jakub Growiec (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nbpgvpl.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.