Keynes Reconsidered

The present volume grew out of conferences held in Tokyo (2010, 2011) and in Florence (2012) on the theme of the renewed relevance of Keynes in the aftermath of the global financial crisis which began in August 2007. The extent and the severity of the disruptions do call for a fresh reappraisal of macroeconomics. There has been a strong body of opinion in mainstream macroeconomics for sometime which holds that in a mature market economy, any major shock is met with an automatic and rapid corrective mechanism that restores market equilibrium and rescues the economy from any serious difficulty. The contributors to this volume reject this optimistic hypothesis.

Bringing together scholars from across the world, the volume addresses several structural problems and debates within contemporary economics. There are four major areas that have been specifically explored: the role of effective demand, economic theory in the context of world recession, the issue of international liquidity, and the perils of finance and international economic disorder. What becomes clear is that the present juncture calls for a reconsideration of the Keynesian position in the context of the recent global financial crisis.