Re: What is Creditary Economics?

["Gunnar Tomasson" <gunnar.tomasson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Paul:

Two brief comments re. the following:

> WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU THINK THAT JOE STIGLITZ REPRESENTS THE POST
> KEYNESIAN VIEW?????

First.  Judging by the variety of viewpoints expressed by "Post Keynesians"
on PKT, there is NO monolithic Post Keynesian View.

Second.  Judging by Gernot Kohler's following post, Joe Stiglitz is as "Post
Keynesian" as they come.

Gunnar
      13 July 2002 15:04 UTC  < < <
      Thread Index
      > > >

      The Global Keynesianism of Stiglitz

      Stiglitz can, perhaps, be described as a global-Keynesian. He is
critical of global neoliberalism and his analysis and proposals have
Keynesian elements and are of a global, rather than national, scope. Here
are some examples.

      REFERENCES - GG = Joseph E. Stiglitz, "Global Greenbacks", The
Economic Times, 22 march 2002 - HT = "Asia should pool forces to stand up to
US, says noted economist", Hindustantimes.com, April 22, 2002 - SR = Joseph
E. Stiglitz, "A Fair Deal for the World" (Review of Soros book), The New
York Review of Books,May 23, 2002) - SG = Susan George, "Clusters of Crisis
and a Planetary Contract", paper, Budapest, 18 October 2001 (see Susan
George web site)

      QUOTES

      (a) "We have an alliance against terrorism. We should also have an
alliance for more global justice and a better global environment." (SR)

      (b) About Soros: "Soros makes a convincing case for the need for
larger expenditures on global public goods, including health and economic
development. . . .My only criticism is that it does not go far enough" (SR)

      (c) Stiglitz advocates expansion of global demand by issuing "global
greenbacks" - a "new form of global money akin to the IMF's Special Drawing
Rights (SDRs)" - magnitude discussed = "roughly $1.6 trillion world-wide"
(GG)

      (d) "Asian economies should pool their huge foreign exchange reserves
as a step toward a reshaped international monetary system that would be less
of a tool of US interests, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz
said on Monday.. . . Stiglitz said current global monetary arrangements had
bred damaging currency volatility that required countries to hold
substantial assets in reserve in case of shocks.. . . this arrangement
exports deflation because it ties up money that would otherwise be spent or
invested more profitably . . . Arguing that developing countries shoulder a
disproportionate burden of an inequitable system, Stiglitz said Asia would
be a good place to start building an alternative model because its central
banks are already sitting on huge stockpiles of reserves." (HT)

      The last quote suggests that global Keynesianism could be built via
regional Keynesianisms. Regional Keynesianism is somewhat similar to (global
socialist) Samir Amin's concept of building a "polycentric" world (i.e., a
world with strong regions). Another step in this direction is the recently
created African Union.

      The Stiglitz variety of global Keynesianism is also compatible with
Susan George's view, namely:

      "A new, updated and globalised Keynesian strategy is now called for,
not just in the United States or in Europe but throughout the world. We need
vast injections of crisis-directed resources into the global economy. They
must be linked to environmental renewal, poverty eradication and democratic
governance." (SG)

      Gernot Kohler






----- Original Message -----
From: "paul davidson" <pdavidson@xxxxxxx>
To: "Gunnar Tomasson" <gunnar.tomasson@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 12:08 PM
Subject: Re: What is Creditary Economics?


> At 11:28 AM 4/13/03 , Gunnar. wrote:
> >  Paul:
> >
> >On the specific point at issue - interest rate and fiscal policy response
to
> >"inadequate" levels of "savings" - I take the Post Keynesian view to be
> >reflected, inter alia, in Stiglitz' emphasis in 'Globalization and its
> >Discontents' on the fundamental tenet of the IMF and World Bank approach
to
> >macroeconomic management which, at the end of the concluding chapter on
'The
> >Way Ahead', he put as follows:
> >
> >"...the developing countries must assume responsibility for their
well-being
> >themselves.  They can manage their budgets so that they live WITHIN THEIR
> >MEANS, meager though that may be etc. etc." (p. 251)
>
>
>
> WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU THINK THAT JOE STIGLITZ REPRESENTS THE POST
> KEYNESIAN VIEW?????
>
> That is like saying that Saddam Hussein represents the Vatican view on
> weapons of mass destruction!
>
> Please do not attribute to logically consistent Post Keynesians what is an
> entirely different view of the entrepreneurial economy.
>
>
>
>
> >In the context, "means" does NOT denote available human and natural
> >resources - instead, it is an amorphous concept relating to the presence
or
> >absence of either domestic price inflation and/or unsustainable external
> >payments deficits.
>
>
> So  ?
>
>
> >Surely, mainstream, monetarist, and post Keynesian scholars all agree (a)
> >that raising interest rates will increase "savings" and reduce aggregate
> >demand, and (b) that raising taxes and/or cutting budget expenditures
will
> >reduce aggregate demand.
>
> Not for this Post Keynesian.
>
> Paul
>