Essays on Keynesian and Kaldorian Economics

This volume of essays contains sixteen papers that the author has written over the last forty years on various aspects of the life and work of John Maynard Keynes and Nicholas Kaldor. The essays cover both theoretical and applied topics, and highlight the continued relevance of Keynesian and Kaldorian ideas for understanding the functioning of capitalist economies. Kaldor was one of the first economists to be converted to the Keynesian revolution in the mid-1930s, and he never lost the faith, so there was a strong affinity between them. But while Keynes revolutionised employment theory, Kaldor's major concern in the latter part of his life was with the theory and applied economics of economic growth. The papers on Keynes mainly relate to defending Keynesian economics against his classical and monetarist critics and showing how Keynesian ideas relate to developing economies and the functioning of the world economy in general. The papers on Kaldor give a sketch of his life and role as policy advisor, and outline his vision of the growth and development process within regions; within countries, and also the world economy as a whole.

Tony Thirlwall is Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Kent, UK. He has also held visiting posts in several other universities including Princeton, Melbourne, La Trobe, and Cambridge. He has been adviser to various international organisations including the African Development Bank, the Pacific Islands Development Programme,and UNCTAD. He has authored several books in different fields of economics, including an intellectual biography of Nicholas Kaldor. He is also General Editor of the Great Thinkers in Economics series published by Palgrave Macmillan.