Political Economy and PK+ Perspectives

The Keynesian Economics Working Group is excited to announce the formation of a new reading group focusing on the critical field of political economy from post-Keynesian and other heterodox economics perspectives.

(Past session): To inaugurate our reading group sessions, we are thrilled to host a seminal webinar featuring Alessandro Roncaglia, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Sapienza University of Rome and distinguished historian of economic thought, on April 12th, 2024. Professor Roncaglia will introduce his groundbreaking new book, Power and Inequality (2024), providing us with a foundational perspective on the themes our reading group seeks to explore. Power and Inequality offers a wide-ranging and multidisciplinary analysis of power as both an economic and social issue, avoiding abstract theorizations in favour of a rich illustration of how power mechanisms exacerbate social and economic disparities.

The Political Economy and PK+ Perspectives reading group aims to explore the role of social classes, power relations, and institutional forces, within post-Keynesian and other heterodox approaches on a number of subjects, for instance, class-conflict within fiscal policy and the political cycle, the dominance and transformation of finance, the interplay between vested interest and industrial policy, power within social and economic inequality, among others. We seek to foster a deep, critical understanding of how economic theories and practices shape, and are shaped by, the power structures and policies that govern societies.

This reading group is more than just a forum for academic discussion; it is a collaborative space for young scholars and students to challenge prevailing economic paradigms and explore alternative viewpoints. Through engaging with a carefully curated selection of readings, participants will have the opportunity to debate and discuss the complex ways in which economic policies, markets, and institutions, intersect with social classes and political realities. Whether you are a student, a young academic, or simply someone with a keen interest in political economy, we invite you to join us in this intellectually stimulating and enriching journey. Together, we will navigate the depths of power relations through a class-based and heterodox economics perspective in order to understand the political economy of some of the most prescient problems of capitalist economies today.

*Reading group session are taking place every other week on Zoom as determined in the outline below. Past sessions and readings are marked in red for clarity.

Sessions and Readings:

0. Kickoff session with Professor Alessandro Roncaglia took place on April 12, 2024. (Past session)

1. Introduction (April 26, 4PM CEST):

Heise, Arne. “A Post Keynesian Theory of Economic Policy-Filling a Void.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, vol. 31, no. 3, 2009, pp. 383–401. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27746855. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

Robinson, Joan. “Foreword”. in A Guide to Post-Keynesian Economics, Alfred Eichner (Editor), 2020, NY: Routledge, pp. xi–xxi.

2. How to incorporate the concept of power in a PK analysis? (May 10, 4PM CEST)

Fairfield T (2015). Structural power in comparative political economy: perspectives from policy formulation in Latin America. Business and Politics, 17(3):411-441. doi:10.1515/bap-2014-0047

Virginie Monvoisin & Louis-Philippe Rochon (2006). Economic Power and the Real World: A Post-Keynesian Analysis of Power. <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2753/IJP0891-1916350401>

3. Elections and the political budget cycle (May 24, 4PM CEST)

Malcolm Sawyer (2023) Political Aspects of Full Employment: Eight Decades On, Review of Political Economy, 35:4, 1109-1123, DOI: 10.1080/09538259.2023.2248027

Michal Kalecki. (1943), POLITICAL ASPECTS OF FULL EMPLOYMENT†. The Political Quarterly, 14: 322-330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923X.1943.tb01016.x

4. Financial markets’ influence on politics and social classes (June 7, 4PM CEST)

Gabor, Daniela. (2021). The Wall Street Consensus. Development and change, 52(3), 429-459.

Weber, Isabella. (2020). Origins of China’s contested relation with neoliberalism: Economics, the World Bank, and Milton Friedman at the dawn of reform. Global Perspectives, 1(1), 12271.

5. The political economy of industrial policy (June 21, 4PM CEST)

Chang, H.-J. and Andreoni, A. (2020), Industrial Policy in the 21st Century. Development and Change, 51: 324-351. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12570

Maria da Conceição Tavares. “The Growth and Decline of Import Substitution in Brazil.” in ECLAC Thinking: Selected Text, 2016, Ricardo Bielschowsky (compiler), pp. 129-140.