The Evolution of Macroeconomic Theory and Policy

ISBN-13: 9783540770077 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 284 str.

Kamran Dadkhah

Opis

Ifanyonehadadoubtregardingtheimportanceofmacroeconomics, the?nancial andeconomiccrisisof2007 2009shouldhaverelievedhim/herofit.Furthermore, at times the unfolding drama and its historical background was an education in macroeconomicsinitself.Itseemedeveryonewasanxioustolearnaboutthecauses of the crisis, its turns and twists, and the possible remedies and their effecti- ness.Thisisbe?ttingsincemacroeconomics asweknowitnowwastheproduct ofanothereconomiccrisis. OnThursday, October 24, 1929 (known asBlack Thursday), thestockmarket crashed.Withinayear, thenumberofjoblessworkersclimbedtomorethanfour millionandhungryprotesterstooktothestreetsofNewYork.ThusbegantheGreat Depression, which in the course of the decades to come changed the economies ofindustrialcountries, fundamentallytransformedourvisionoftheeconomyand economicpolicy, andbroughtintoprominenceabranchofeconomicsthatin1933 RagnarFrisch christenedmacroeconomics. Overthenext80yearstheinteractionofeconomicevents, economictheory, and economicpolicyresultedinabodyofknowledgethatisanintegralpartofpolitical andeconomicdiscourseandindeedofeverydaylifeintheUnitedStatesandaround theworld.Economists, businessleaders, policymakers, andallconcernedcitizens needtobefamiliarwithmacroeconomics. Macroeconomics is best understood in a historical context. The book offers an introduction to macroeconomic theory and policy as they relate to events and developments of thepast 80years. The United States economy and its?scal and monetarypoliciesarethemainconcerns, butbecausetheUnitedStateseconomy andworldeconomiesareintertwined, thestoriesoftheirinteractionswillalsobe recounted. Let me emphasize that the book is neither an economic history of the United States nor a history of economic thought. The purpose of this book is to teach macroeconomicsinthecontextofactualeventsandwithemphasisontherelati- shipsbetweenmacroeconomictheoryandpolicy. Students of economics, professional economists, and the interested public are the target audience. The book can be used as the main text or a supplement in advancedundergraduateandbeginninggraduatecoursesinmacroeconomics.P- fessionaleconomistsmay?nditausefulreference.Thebookisnotintendedfor vii viii Contents readerswithnobackgroundineconomics.Butanyonewhoisreadytoexpendthe effortandisnotputoffbyoccasionalequationscouldbene?tfromreadingit. IwouldliketothankSpringer-VerlageditorsBarbaraFessandChristianeBeisel for their help, support, and understanding during the writing of this book. I also wouldliketothankAnnaDittrichofSpringer-VerlagandSaranyaBaskarandher colleagues at Integra for their excellent work in producing the book. Colleagues, friends, and students helped with their comments and questions. In particular I would like to thank Neil Alper, Oscar Brookins, William Dickens, Tess Forsell, AmaritaNattwhoreadallorlargepartsofthebookandmadeextensivesuggestions andcorrections.MythanksalsogoestoAndrewSumandMariaLuengo-Pradowho madeusefulcomments.StudentsinmygraduatemacroeconomicsclassYuanGao (Highfar), EmilyHalle, YelenaKuznetsov, AliciaParillo, andBrianSiebendetected errorsandmadesuggestionsfor

Spis treści

The Great Depression and Mr. Keynes Keynes, John Maynard .- The Post-War Economic Order.- Laying the Foundations of Keynesian Economics.- Keynesian Economics in Action.- Macroeconomics of an Open Economy.- The Collapse of Post-War International Economic Order.- The New Classical New Classical Revolt Against Activist Economic Policy.- Business Cycles Business Cycles : Evidence, Theory, and Policy.- Money, Monetary Policy, and Monetarism Monetarism .- Government Budget and Fiscal Policy.- The Reagan- Reagan, President Ronal Thatcher Thatcher, Margaret Revolution Reagan-Thatcher Revolution : The Age of Hayek Hayek, Friedrich and Schumpeter Schumpeter, Joseph .- Macroeconomics of Globalized Economies.- The Financial and Economic Crisis of 2007–2009.

Blurb

The Great Depression of the 1930s gave birth to a branch of economics that in 1933 Ragnar Frisch christened macroeconomics. Over the decades that followed up to the present, the interactions of economic events, economic policy, and macroeconomic theory have created a fascinating story integral to the life and politics of national economies around the world. This book recounts that story. It brings together three strands of activities and trends: the economic events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries that defined the economic problems facing the nation, policymakers, and economists; the responses of economists who brought the accumulated knowledge of the profession to bear on these problems; and the successes and failures of these policies as they reshaped the economic landscape and defined new sets of problems to be analyzed by macroeconomic theory. This highly readable book presents an unconventional perspective on macroeconomics – the interplay of theory and policy in a historical context.