Keynes: formular teorías para diseñar políticas

Keynes made a unique contribution to thought about economic policy in three important respects. First, he spearheaded a new line of thought on macroeconomic theory and policy-making, which involved a more active role for the state. Second, he was actively engaged at the centre of economic policy-making in the UK in both the domestic and international spheres. Third, drawing on his work in philosophy, the content of his macroeconomics, and his policy-making experience, Keynes developed a distinctive two-stage approach to the relationship between theory and policy. The article focuses on this third aspect, illustrating it by exploring how Keynes addressed issues such as domestic and international monetary reform. It is argued that Keynes’ methodology as a theorist was geared towards facilitating policy application. Employing practical reason, Keynes paid particular attention to policy context in order to identify how the theory might need to be modified for application rather than seeking universal application. In a further departure from the emerging positivism in economics, Keynes kept the nature and implications of his political philosophy and also the role of social institutions on the surface.