The analysis of government deficits and public debt points to a fundamental error in contemporary economic discussions. It is not possible to assess the stance of fiscal policy from estimates of the public sector deficit. John Maynard Keynes's macroeconomics and the empirical evidence discussed...

This paper seeks to bolster the view that Keynes was a monetary economist concerned primarily with monetary and not fiscal policy. His most fundamental policy conclusion for national economies was that the authorities could control the long-term rate of interest and should do so to promote...