IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/elg/ejeepi/v20y2023i2p369-387.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Macroeconomic policy at the end of the age of abundance

Author

Listed:
  • Jo Michell

    (N/A)

Abstract

Progressive policy proposals influenced by post-Keynesian economics emphasise the use of fiscal policy and income redistribution to maintain aggregate demand at levels which achieve full employment. Given persistent evidence of weak demand, excess capacity and unemployment in rich economies since around 1980, expansion of demand would have been appropriate over much of this period. Tighter supply constraints – both short-run constraints due to disruption caused by climate change and geopolitical tensions, and longer-run constraints due to absolute carbon budgets – impose additional challenges in designing policy. In order to increase investment sufficiently to achieve net zero goals, constraints on consumption may be required. Such constraints would weaken the multiplier mechanisms emphasised by post-Keynesian analysis, implying lower growth and higher public debt stocks. Traditional progressive policy proposals will need updating to reflect these constraints. New institutional arrangements will be required to implement updated policy packages.

Suggested Citation

  • Jo Michell, 2023. "Macroeconomic policy at the end of the age of abundance," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 20(2), pages 369-387, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:elg:ejeepi:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p369-387
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/ejeep/20/2/article-p369.xml
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philip Arestis, 2013. "Economic theory and policy: a coherent post-Keynesian approach," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 10(2), pages 243-255.
    2. Adam Aboobaker & Esra Nur Ugurlu, 2023. "Weaknesses of MMT as a guide to development policy," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(3), pages 555-574.
    3. Mark Setterfield, 2023. "Post-Keynesian growth theory and the supply side: a feminist approach," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 20(2), pages 299-316, November.
    4. Cevik Serhan & Jalles Joao, 2024. "Eye of the Storm: The Impact of Climate Shocks on Inflation and Growth," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 75(2), pages 109-138.
    5. Yeva Nersisyan & L. Randall Wray, 2019. "How to Pay for the Green New Deal," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_931, Levy Economics Institute.
    6. Thomas Ferguson & Servaas Storm, 2023. "Myth and Reality in the Great Inflation Debate: Supply Shocks and Wealth Effects in a Multipolar World Economy," Working Papers Series inetwp196, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    7. Rowthorn, R E, 1977. "Conflict, Inflation and Money," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(3), pages 215-239, September.
    8. Eric Tymoigne & L. Randall Wray, 2013. "Modern Money Theory 101: A Reply to Critics," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_778, Levy Economics Institute.
    9. Thomas Ferguson & Servaas Storm, 2023. "Myth and Reality in the Great Inflation Debate: Supply Shocks and Wealth Effects in a Multipolar World Economy," International Journal of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 1-44, January.
    10. Giuseppe Fontana & Malcolm Sawyer, 2022. "Would a zero-growth economy be achievable and be sustainable?," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 19(1), pages 89-102, April.
    11. Giuseppe Fontana & Malcolm Sawyer, 2013. "Post-Keynesian and Kaleckian thoughts on ecological macroeconomics," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 10(2), pages 256-267.
    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. Hein, Eckhard, 2023. "Inflation is always and everywhere … a conflict phenomenon: Post-Keynesian inflation theory and energy price driven conflict inflation," IPE Working Papers 224/2023, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    2. Pianta, Mario, 2023. "Inflation and distributive conflicts," MPRA Paper 119345, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Vicente Ferreira & Joao Pedro Ferreira & Dario Guarascio & Francesco Zezza, 2024. "Shockflation in the EU: sectoral shocks, cost-push inflation and structural asymmetries in core and periphery countries," LEM Papers Series 2024/31, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    4. Giovanni Dosi & Lucrezia Fanti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2024. "Attributes and Trends of Rentified Capitalism," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 10(2), pages 435-457, July.
    5. Ugurlu, Esra Nur, 2023. "Sectoral implications of policy induced household credit expansions," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 14-31.
    6. Mark Setterfield, 2023. "Will hysteresis effects afflict the US economy during the post-COVID recovery?," Working Papers 2306, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    7. Andrew M. Fischer & Servaas Storm, 2023. "The Return of Debt Crisis in Developing Countries: Shifting or Maintaining Dominant Development Paradigms?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 54(5), pages 954-993, September.
    8. Eckhard Hein, 2017. "Post-Keynesian macroeconomics since the mid 1990s: main developments," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 131-172, September.
    9. Guillaume l'Oeillet, 2022. "Modern Monetary Theory: wrong ideas, real limits and blind spots. An overview of the critics [La Théorie Monétaire Moderne : idées fausses, vraies limites et angles morts. Un tour d’horizon des cri," Post-Print hal-03854814, HAL.
    10. Gilberto Tadeu Lima, 2000. "Market concentration and technological innovation in a dynamic model of growth and distribution," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 53(215), pages 447-475.
    11. Rowthorn, Bob & Glyn, Andrew, 1990. "The diversity of unemployment experience since 1973," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 57-89, June.
    12. Özlem Onaran & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2006. "The effect of FDI and foreign trade on wages in the Central and Eastern European Countries in the post-transition era: A sectoral analysis," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp094, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    13. Fontanari, Claudia & Levrero, Enrico Sergio & Romaniello, Davide, 2024. "A composite index for workers’ bargaining power and the inflation rate in the United States, 1960–2018," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 682-698.
    14. Arestis, Philip & Mariscal, Iris Biefang-Frisancho, 1998. "Capital shortages and asymmetries in UK unemployment," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 189-204, June.
    15. Tobias Kranz & Hamza Bennani & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2024. "Monetary Policy and Climate Change: Challenges and the Role of Major Central Banks," Research Papers in Economics 2024-01, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    16. 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.
    17. Sasaki, Hiroaki, 2012. "Is the long-run equilibrium wage-led or profit-led? A Kaleckian approach," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 231-244.
    18. Eckhard Hein & Daniel Detzer, 2015. "Post-Keynesian Alternative Policies to Curb Macroeconomic Imbalances in the Euro Area," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 62(2), pages 217-236, June.
    19. Chen, Zhenzhu & Li, Li & Tang, Yao, 2024. "Weather, credit, and economic fluctuations: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 406-422.
    20. Jong-seok Oh, 2023. "Stabilizing the Macroeconomy with Labor Market Policies," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 39, pages 205-240.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    macroeconomics; post-Keynesian economics; supply constraints; climate change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

    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:elg:ejeepi:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p369-387. 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: Phillip Thompson (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elgaronline.com/ejeep .

    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.