This paper documents an early fork in the development of macroeconomics, by examining a debate between the Dutch economists Jan Tinbergen and Johan Koopmans. In a 1932 paper, Tinbergen argued that two firms could be stuck in a 'bad' equilibrium in the absence of a coordinated action to increase...

The canonical history of macroeconomics, one of the rival schools of thought and the great economists, gives Robert Lucas a prominent role in shaping the recent developments in the area. According to it, his followers were initially split into two camps, the "real business cycle" theorists with...

Solow has repeatedly called for the development of models that combine equilibrium and out-of equilibrium outcomes or what he called a macro-economics of the medium-run. This paper recounts the history of Solow's different attempts to address this issue. It starts in early 1950s when Solow...