Growth, instability and cycles: Harrodian and Kaleckian models of accumulation and income distribution

This paper compares Kaleckian and Harrodian models of accumulation. The sim- plicity of the canonical Kaleckian model is appealing but more complex Harrodian specifications are preferable from a behavioral perspective. The local instability of Harrodian-inspired specifications, moreover, offers a unified understanding of both trend and cycles. JEL Categories: E12, E32, O41Kalecki, Harrod, Kaldor, Robinson, Steindl, investment function, sta- bility, growth cycle, reserve army, multiple equilibria.

Wage inequality and overeducation in a model with efficiency wages

This paper shows that the existence and persistence of ‘overeducation’ can be explained by an extension of the efficiency wage model. When calibrated to fit the amounts of overeducation found in most empirical studies, the model implies that both the relative wage and the relative employment rate of high-skill workers depend inversely on aggregate economic activity. Keeping aggregate employment constant, furthermore, low-skill unemployment rises following an increase in the relative supply of high-skill labor, and relative wages may be insensitive to changes in relative labor supplies. The model may help explain rising wage inequality in some countries since the early 1970s. JEL Categories: J31Wage inequality, overeducation, efficiency wages.

Increasing inequality and financial instability

Rising inequality affects the composition of asset demands as well as aggregate demand. The poor have few financial assets and their portfolio is skewed towards fixed-income assets. The rich, by contrast, hold a large proportion of their wealth in stocks. Thus, an increase in inequality tends to raise the demand for stocks. This generates capital gains, and these gains can fuel a bubble, as desired portfolios shift further towards stocks. JEL Categories: E11, E21earnings inequality, portfolio composition, financial instability

Business cycles

This note outlines and discusses some of the strands in the post-Keynesian literature on business cycles. Most post-Keynesians have focused on endogenously generated cycles, but the mechanism varies: some focus on the goods market, others on financial markets, the labor market, or political intervention. The merits of formal modeling of the cycles have also come in for debate. JEL Categories:

Heterodox macro after the crisis

Macroeconomics is in crisis and this creates openings for alternative perspectives. The dominant heterodox traditions, however, have shortcomings that need to be addressed, both to improve our understanding of the real world and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the irrelevance of most mainstream macro. This paper discusses three examples of areas that need attention: (i) investment functions (where popular specifications lack behavioral and empirical support), (ii) income distribution (where key developments have received little attention) and(iii) the relation between income inequality and financial markets (where extensions of existing models may help explain financial instability) JEL Categories: E12, E21, E22investment, earnings inequality, financial instability

Mythical Ages and Methodological Strictures - Joan Robinson's Contributions to the Theory of Economic Growth

This paper considers some methodological aspects of Joan Robinson's contribution to post-Keynesian growth theory. Joan Robinson's criticisms of equilibrium analysis, of the conflation of logical and historical time and of the uses (and misuses) of mathematical formalisation are scathing. But while many of her points are well taken, parts of her argument appear questionable. As a result, her methodological critique of equilibrium economics may be misleading. Moreover, she failed to appreciate the potential gains from mathematical formalisation. The further development of a Robinsonian analysis of economic growth calls for a reconsideration of these aspects of her legacy.Joan Robinson, equilibrium, stability, historical time

Labor heterogeneity, inequality and institutional change

US earnings inequality has increased dramatically since the 1970s, and the prospect of a reversal depends on what caused the trend. The standard explanation emphasizes skill-biased technical change. This paper briefly considers some aggregation issues and then proceeds to outline two alternative perspectives .power biased technical change and the effects of induced mismatch in the labor market .and their implications. JEL Categories: J31, J41, O33inequality, power-biased technological change, minimum wages, overeducation, mismatch, efficiency wage, aggregation.

Pluralism, the Lucas critique, and the integration of macro and micro

Mainstream macroeconomics has pursued .micro founded.models based on the explicit optimization by representative agents. The result has been a long and wasteful detour. But elements of the Lucas critique are relevant, also for heterodox economists. Challenging common heterodox views on microeconomics and formalization, this paper argues that (i) economic models should not be based purely on empirically observed regularities,(ii) heterodox economists must be able to tell an integrated story about goal-oriented micro behavior in a specific macro environment, and (iii)relatively simple analytical models have an essential role to play. JEL Categories: E1; B5micro foundations, pluralism, old Keynesian theory, Kaleckian investment function.

Steindlian Models of Growth and Stagnation

This paper examines Steindl’s original 1952 model and relates it to subsequent stagnationist models. The model is then extended by introducing endogenous changes in the markup and a reformulation of the investment function. These extensions address weaknesses of the simpler models, find support in Steindl’s writing and leave intact some of Steindl’s key results. In a further extension, we add a labour market and analyse the stabilizing influence of a Marxian reserve-army mechanism. The implications of this model for the effects of increased monopolization are largely in line with Steindl’s predictions.Steindl, accumulation, stagnation, markup, monopolization, reserve army of labour.

A model of power-biased technological change

New technologies have allowed firms to monitor low-skill workers more closely, thus reducing the power of these workers. We show that this ‘power-biased’ change may generate rising wage inequality and increases in the work intensity and unemployment of low-skill workers