A Classical-Keynesian Approach to Macroeconomics

Presenting a robust alternative to mainstream economics, this book outlines a coherent Classical-Keynesian approach to economics – one grounded in the Classical theory of value, the Keynesian principle of effective demand, and the post-Keynesian perspective on money and finance.

The chapters from an international cast of leading authors are arranged around five key topics: the Classical theory of production, prices, and income distribution; the Keynesian principle of effective demand and the supermultiplier; the Keynesian approach to monetary macroeconomics; Classical and Keynesian approaches to the history of economic thought; and input-output analysis of structural change and environmental issues. The chapters explore the dynamics of an advanced market economy, understood as a process organised according to the sequence: finance-production-distribution-spending and accumulation. It is demonstrated that in this process the economy does not gravitate around a full-employment position, that the level of activity, the composition of output, and employment are driven by growth engines located in the autonomous demand connected to output through the supermultiplier, and that money is not neutral and the growth engines require sustainable funding.

This book will be essential reading for researchers in political economy, history of economic thought, economic theory, heterodox economics, and alternatives to the mainstream.