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Anticipations of the Crisis: On the Similarities Between Post Keynesian Economics and Regulation Theory

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  • Mark Setterfield

    (Department of Economics, Trinity College)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarities between Post Keynesian Economics (PKE) and Regulation Theory (RT). It is argued that, despite important differences between these traditions, the analytical contents of PKE and RT display broad similarities with respect to their treatments of the income-generating process, the crisis-prone nature of capitalism, and the institutional contingency of capitalist growth and development. This thesis is then exemplified and substantiated with reference to the 2007—2009 financial crisis and “Great Recession”. Specifically, it is shown that important strands of both PKE and RT characterize and were successful in anticipating the crisis as the result of the exhaustion of a financialized growth process.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Setterfield, 2010. "Anticipations of the Crisis: On the Similarities Between Post Keynesian Economics and Regulation Theory," Working Papers 1007, Trinity College, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tri:wpaper:1007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mark Setterfield & Yun K. Kim, 2016. "Household Borrowing and the Possibility of ``Consumption-Driven, Profit-Led Growth’’," Working Papers 2016_01, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    3. Hein, Eckhard & Dodig, Nina & Budyldina, Natalia, 2014. "Financial, economic and social systems: French Regulation School, Social Structures of Accumulation and Post-Keynesian approaches compared," IPE Working Papers 34/2014, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    4. Mark Setterfield & Yun K. Kim, 2017. "Household borrowing and the possibility of 'consumption-driven, profit-led growth'," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 5(1), pages 43-60, January.
    5. Joan R. Rovira, 2017. "Secular stagnation and concentration of corporate power," Working Papers PKWP1704, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    6. Sarah Martina Tesar, 2019. "Populismus und Wirtschaftspolitik: Die wirtschaftspolitische Programmatik populistischer Parteien in Südeuropa," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 188, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    7. Robert Guttmann, 2015. "The heterodox notion of structural crisis," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 194-212, April.
    8. Thomas Goda, 2017. "A comparative review of the role of income inequality in economic crisis theories and its contribution to the financial crisis of 2007-2009," Revista Finanzas y Politica Economica, Universidad Católica de Colombia, vol. 9(1), pages 151-174, February.
    9. Thomas Goda, 2013. "The role of income inequality in crisis theories and in the subprime crisis," Working Papers PKWP1305, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    10. Clévenot, Mickaël, 2011. "Post-keynésianisme et théorie de la régulation : des perspectives communes," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 10.
    11. Boyer, Robert, 2011. "Post-keynésiens et régulationnistes :Une alternative à la crise de l’économie standard ?," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 10.
    12. Yuki Tada, 2023. "The paradox of debt and Minsky cycle: Nonlinear effects of debt and capital, and variety of capitalism," Working Papers 2304, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Post Keynesian Economics; Regulation Theory; Great Recession; financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General
    • E11 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Marxian; Sraffian; Kaleckian
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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