Rethinking the Keynesian Revolution: Keynes, Hayek, and the Wicksell Connection - Hardcover

Goodspeed, Tyler Beck

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199846650 ISBN 13: 9780199846658

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

While standard accounts of the 1930s debates surrounding economic thought pit John Maynard Keynes against Friedrich von Hayek in a clash of ideology, this reflexive dichotomy is in many respects superficial. It is the argument of this book that both Keynes and Hayek developed their respective theories of the business cycle within the tradition of Swedish economist Knut Wicksell, and that this shared genealogy manifested itself in significant theoretical affinities between the two supposed antagonists. The salient features of Wicksell's work, namely the importance of money, the role of uncertainty, coordination failures, and the element of time in capital accumulation, all motivated the Keynesian and Hayekian theories of economic fluctuations. They also contributed to a fundamental convergence between the two economists during the 1930s. This shared, "Wicksellian" vision of economic problems points to a very different research agenda from that of the Walrasian-style, general equilibrium analysis that has dominated postwar macroeconomics.

This book will appeal to economists interested in historical perspective of their discipline, as well as historians of economic thought. The author not only deconstructs some of the historical misconceptions of the Keynes versus Hayek debate, but also suggests how the insights uncovered can inform and instruct modern theory. While much of the analysis is technical, it does not assume previous knowledge of 1930s economic theory, and should be accessible to academics and graduate students with general economics training.

About this title

About the Author

Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, Tyler Goodspeed was previously a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, earning Class I* Honours for his dissertation on Keynes and Hayek. He received an A.B. with highest honors in economics and history from Harvard.

Review

"This is a fascinating book that will have a major impact. Goodspeed's idea of linking Keynes and Hayek (via Wicksell) is counter-intuitive at first sight, but it turns out to unlock a major and productive discussion of the theory of uncertainty, including uncertainty about financial markets, that is central to many present day discussions in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The account is original and uses a nice set of completely new archival materials on Keynes' relationship with Hayek." --Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs, Princeton University

"Tyler Goodspeed does an excellent job in this intriguing work to explain the debate that raged in the middle of the twentieth century between two of its then most prominent economists, J.M. Keynes and the too long ignored Friedrich von Hayek. Goodspeed perceptively opens up for the reader's examination the pivotal issues surrounding their significant differences and the theoretical principles they shared, as well the behind-the-scenes role played by Piero Sraffra in fueling their debate and forcing these two interlocutors to refine their respective positions. This is highly recommended reading for scholars involved in this field of study." --Donald J. Oswald, Professor of Economics, California State University, Bakersfield

"Goodspeed has here provided a solid, technical and historical recounting of the older Cambridge Capital Controversies that will be quite useful for scholars interested in Keynes, Hayek, and the economics that issued from Cambridge." --The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199846650
• ISBN 13: 9780199846658
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216