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...

This book offers a fresh perspective on the early history of macroeconomics, by examining the macro-dynamic models developed from the late 1920s to the late 1940s, and their treatment of economic instability. It first explores the differences and similarities between the early mathematical...

Chapter 1. Looking for dynamic economics: Tinbergen’s early breakthrough -- Chapter 2. Relaxation oscillations in the early development of econometrics: a road not taken -- Chapter 3. Frisch’s macro-dynamics: inner stability and external impulses -- Chapter 4. Kalecki’s macro-dynamics:...