Henry A. Abbati: Keynes' Forgotten Precursor: Selected Writings

ISBN-13: 9781138865600 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 346 str.

Serena Di Gaspare

Opis

Henry A. Abbati was not an economist by profession. After retiring from business, in 1924 he published his first book, The Unclaimed Wealth: How Money Stops Production in which he expounded his theory of 'effective demand' (terminology of his own) and its differences with respect to current theories on economic fluctuations. He was advocating public intervention in the economy in the crisis. His second book, The Final Buyer marshalled his criticisms of current theories and further clarified salient aspects of his theory, such as 'saving' and its various definitions, the working of the banking system, the interest rate and the role of public works as a means of reducing unemployment. Later work in the 30s and 40s looked at full employment, reflections on the economic crisis and further analysis of the concept of unclaimed wealth. In many ways Abbati's work in the twenties was an important precursor to Keynes' Treatise on Money, though despite being admired by Robertson and indeed Keynes, his work is today largely unknown and entirely ignored by the numerous authors who have examined the debate of the twenties and thirties on the crises and business cycles and by academic opinion in general. In this book, Di Gaspare restores Abbati's position as a pioneer in macroeconomic theory with a selection of his writings and a far reaching introduction to his contribution to the history of economic thought.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements  Biography of Henry A. Abbati  Introduction  Part 1: The Unclaimed Wealth: How Money Stops Production  Prologue  1. The Problem  2. The Limits of Production  3. Purchasing Power  4. The Monetary System  5. The Supply of Money  6. Credit Money  7. Paper Money  8. Saving  9. Saving and the Utilisiation of Purchasing Power  10. The Abuse of Surplus  11. The Inefficiency of Currently Proposed Remedies  Part II: The Final Buyer  1. Introduction (1927)  2. The Potential Supply of Money  3. The Quantity of Money  4. Determining Factors of the Condition of Markets and the Behaviour of Final Buyers  5. The Nature and Effects of Saving  6. The Irregular Final-Buying by Countries Abroad from the Home Country  7. The Irregular Final-Buying by Governments  8. The Irregular Final-Buying Resulting from the Activities of Producers and Distributors 9. The Cry for Increased Consumption  10. What is Trade Depression?  PART III a) The Economic Lessons of 1929-31  Bulletin No. 1: The Beliefs, Objects and Methods of the Unclaimed Weath Utlilization Committee  Bulletin No. 2: Insufficient Buying and Trade Depression  Bulletin No. 7: General Trade Depression in the Making  Bulletin No. 8:  Budgetary Policy in the Present Situation  The irregular final-buying resulting from the activities of producers and distributors  b) The Search for Confidence in 1932  Bulletin No. 12: The Case for a 'Moratorium' for Taxpayers in the Over-Deflated, Gold-Logged Countries  Bulletin No. 13  Statement on the Case for a 'Monatorium' for Taxpayers in the Over-Deflated Countries  Bulletin No 14  The Economic Crisis and the Disarmament Conference  c) Economic Readjustment in 1933  Bulletin No. 26 Gentlemen Prefer Gold. II: A Midsummer Night's Dream of 1928  Bulletin No. 27: America Takes the Lead. I: The Heman PART IV a) National Debt and Taxation  b) What is Saved?  c) Lord Keynes' Central Thesis and the Concept of Unclaimed Wealth  d) The New Economic Theories and the Depression of 1929-1933

O autorze

Serena Di Gaspare is Assistant Professor of Political Sciences at the University of Turin, Italy.