Keynes and development economics: a sixty-year perspective

John Maynard Keynes exercised considerable influence on the formative years of development economics, through his disciples. Key issues were the relevance of disguised unemployment to developing countries and the supply side policies that would have to complement Keynesian demand management. Although Michal Kalecki made a greater contribution to structuralist economics, Keynesian accounting formats still dominate macroeconomic development models. The legend of Keynes-his policy advocacy and intellectual innovation-also inspired emulation by a younger generation of development economists. Ironically, his writings on Soviet development were neglected, and Keynes's modern critics unknowingly used his own arguments to try to discredit his influence. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.