Moeda e acumulação de capital: Keynes, Robertson e o conceito de poupança

This paper retrieves the central elements of John Maynard Keynes and Dennis Holme Robertson’s views about the concept of saving during the 1920 and 1930s. The first section covers the partnership between both economists at the beginning of the period, as well as their respective theories on the behavior of the diverse kinds of savings, particularly the ones of a compulsory nature, along the cyclical process of capital accumulation. After that, the principle of effective demand and the multiplier theory, as developed in Keynes’ General Theory, are examined in order to identify how these ideas moved away from the kind of analysis associated with the forced saving doctrine. Following this, the attention is focused on Robertson’s criticisms of the income-multiplier mechanism. Finally, the last section discusses Keynes’s counter argument, especially the adjustment he conducted in his theory of investment by incorporating the notion of finance into the liquidity demand function. The concluding remarks sum up the main points of the debate, evaluating its most important theoretical repercussions.