The outstanding economist Hyman Minsky was always skeptical of Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty. It assumed, he wrote, that economic growth itself would be adequate to eliminate poverty. But Minsky believed that there were structural problems that always left too many people without jobs or with...

Social unrest across Europe is growing as Euroland's economy collapses faster than the United States', the result of falling exports and a weaker fiscal response. The controversial title of this brief is based on a belief that the nature of the euro itself limits Euroland's fiscal policy space....

This working paper presents a debate, which begins with Bret Fiebiger arguing that the approach to monetary and financial macroeconomics which terms itself "modern monetary theory” does not have sound analytic foundations and is of little relevance empirically. Scott Fullwiler, Stephanie...

Hyman Minsky is best known for his work in the area of financial economics, and especially for his financial instability hypothesis. In recent years, some authors have also recognized his advocacy of the “employer of last resort” as part of his “big government” intervention to help...

Modern governments with a floating currency face no inherent financial constraints. Unfortunately, most modern macro-theorists continue to write as if these nations were financially constrained by (1) the magnitude of current tax "revenue" and (2) the private sector's willingness to "finance"...

In 1913 and 1914, A. Mitchell Innes published a pair of articles that stand as two of the best pieces written in the twentieth century on the nature of money. Only recently rediscovered, these articles are reprinted and analyzed here for the first time.

Hyman Minsky is best known for his work in the area of financial economics, and especially for his financial instability hypothesis. In recent years, some authors have also recognized his advocacy of the "employer of last resort" as part of his "big government" intervention to help maintain...

From this paper's Preface, by Dr. Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President: Twenty to 25 years ago, a debate was under way in academe and in the popular press over the War on Poverty (WOP). One group of scholars argued that the war, initiated by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, had been lost, owing to...

This paper argues that economists require a particular concept of time in order to facilitate the development of theory that has greater explanatory power in describing and analyzing the sort of economy in which we are primarily interested—the monetary economy usually termed capitalism. And...

This paper argues that economists require a particular concept of time to develop theory with greater explanatory power in describing and analyzing the sort of economy in which we are primarily interested--the monetary economy usually termed capitalism. Economists of various persuasions have...