Brazilian Keynesian Review

Editorial

2023-10-05T12:41:34-03:00

A Post-Keynesian Critique on Mainstream Financial Education

2023-10-06T11:33:12-03:00

Financial education has attracted increased attention from governments, think tanks and international institutions in the past years. Nonetheless, the prevalent policies and practices in the field usually assume a very narrow analytical framework. This paper analyses financial education policy proposals from a post-Keynesian theoretical perspective. Most practices assume that financial education, by transferring knowledge and information to people, promotes financial capability, improving individual decisions. Our analysis shows, however, that a disregard for basic elements related to the functioning of the financial system, such as uncertainty and Minsky’s financial cycles, may compromise any financial decision. The conclusion is that financial education policies require the acknowledgement of the uncertain and imbalanced environment in which the financial decisions are made and cannot be restricted solely to the qualification of individuals.

The inducement aspect an autonomous investment on civil building: a review for the Brazilian economy for 2012-2020 period

2023-10-07T10:53:51-03:00

The present work contributes to the scarce empirical and theoretical literature about the civil construction sector from an aggregate perspective. Firstly, a survey of public policies directed to the sector is carried out. The credit impulse for infrastructure works is then calculated and its relationship with the Brazilian economic activity and investments in construction is analyzed. Then, long-term relationships are estimated between the gross fixed capital formation in construction and economic variables. Causalities are also tested based on Toda and Yamamoto (1995), based on monthly data provided by the Central Bank of Brazil and IBGE for the period from 2012 to 2020. The results indicate that investments in civil construction are affected by the concession credit and interest rates for the real estate sector. There is also an accelerating effect, which is boosted by expectations of bigger aggregate demand, as suggested by the Sraffian Supermultiplier approach. We interpret the results as a sign that specific monetary and credit policy measures, in particular, and aggregate demand stimulus, in general, are effective in boosting investments in civil construction.

Modern Monetary Theory and the Post-Keynesians: the nature of their theoretical intersections in the literature.

2023-10-06T11:32:46-03:00

The present paper aims to contribute to the post-Keynesian and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) literature by bringing a Weberian methodological approach to the issue of MMT classification as a strand of post-Keynesian thought. In this sense, initially, the MMT and post-Keynesian theoretical cores are identified and elaborated by a literature review. Then both cores are compared. The working hypothesis is that MMT is a post-Keynesian strand, and research findings contribute to the validation of the hypothesis.

The Fall and Rise of the Concept of Uncertainty in the History of Economic Thought

2023-10-06T11:33:56-03:00

Uncertainty is one of these central concepts towards which economists have formed diverse and contradictory views. Traditionally, mainstream economists ignore the fundamental role of uncertainty and fully embrace individual rationality. This related to the closed-system ontology adopted by them, whereby uncertainty is viewed as a source of disturbance and treated as an external shock. But the financial and economic crises have reopened the debate about the consequences of such neglect. The article, in turn, is an attempt to tell the story of economic debates of uncertainty’s ups and downs. It resorts to the history of economic thought as an analytical tool to trace the evolution of the concept of uncertainty and the arguments presented by schools of economic thought, whether in defense or rejecting the centrality of this concept. Moreover, discussing uncertainty brought to the fore other related concepts such as ‘animal spirit’ and irrationality and thus paved the way for aspects recently addressed in the behavioral economics.

Real Exchange Rate, Labor Market and Economic Growth in Latin America

2023-10-06T11:33:47-03:00

The objective of this paper is to empirically analyze the influence of the real exchange rate and the labor market on the economic growth of Latin American countries in the period 2000 to 2014. For that, a “System GMM” model is estimated in which the rate the real exchange rate and the differences in labor productivity, in a dual economy, interact to define different trajectories of growth and functional distribution of income. The results showed that population growth, the average and minimum wage differential - a proxy for the productivity differential - and the participation of wages in income positively influenced the growth of Latin American economies. Furthermore, the devaluation of the real exchange rate has a significant and distinct effect over time on the growth of Latin American economies. Contemporaneously, the influence is negative but, in a lagged way, it is positive (as advocated by the Marshall-Lerner condition). Therefore, it is concluded that the real exchange rate was relevant for the economic growth of Latin America in the period under study.

Victoria Chick (1936-2023): an eminent post-Keynesian scholar – some retrospective remarks

2023-10-06T11:33:28-03:00

For most heterodox economists Victoria Chick stands out as one of the most respected and knowledgeable Post-Keynesian scholars. As such, she has for decades been writing on the economics and methodology of Keynes, on trying to take inspiration from him when analysing important macroeconomic problems of modern times and on the importance of adopting an open system approach when analysing such matters. In this short article, the focus is primarily on Victoria Chick´s work on economic methodology. She argued that methodology should be taken seriously - You cannot simple just do economics. You must consider how to do economics.

mics.

Dynamics of global liquidity cycles in the years 2000-2019: a proposition based on calculated indicator and conjuncture analysis

2023-10-06T11:33:37-03:00

From the perspective that markets are not perfectly efficient in allocating resources, there is no reason to expect that the total openness and financial integration of economies will deliver the greatest economic growth. Oppositely, these movements can increase the degree of vulnerability of peripheral countries to external events. The present work highlights the financial external vulnerability linked to the currency hierarchy. In the same way, international capital flows are central vectors for the realization of this vulnerability, behaving in a coordinated manner, mainly linked to the global liquidity cycles. Thus, the objective of this paper is to add elements to the understanding of the periodicity of global liquidity in the 2000s, through the calculation of an indicator – related to capital flows to peripheral countries – and historical analysis of the period portrayed, examining the international conjuncture and some works related to it, such as the IMF and UNCTAD reports.

The convergence between the Post-Keneysian and the ecological economy: Critical assessment and remarks on green financing

2023-10-06T11:32:36-03:00

There are recent attempts to bring ecological economics and post-Keynesian economics closer, whose synthesis efforts are taking place in a context of intertwining economic, social, political, and ecological crises. From this integration, a new discipline called post-Keynesian ecological macroeconomics has been consolidated. This article seeks to recover this synthesis effort by analyzing the hard cores of post-Keynesian and ecological economics. The article highlights the importance of the so-called green finance, a relatively new topic, especially among ecological economists. We argue that the approximation between ecological economics and post-Keynesian economics allows a better understanding and framing of green finance as an essential analytical category for an ecological transition. Lastly, despite the environmental warnings, we show that funding for environmentally degrading activities is still increasing.

Um Modelo de distribuição de renda e inflação por conflito entre salários, lucro e renda de monopólio de serviços monitorados

2023-10-06T11:33:03-03:00

In the present paper we present a model of inflation and functional income distribution following the cost-push and distributive conflict approach. Our specific contribution is to consider in an integrated approach the effects of the bargain over money wages, the monetary policy and the government policy for monitored prices over inflation and functional income distribution, admitting the existence of monopoly profits in the sector that produces the monitored good and the possibility that the rates of profits might not be homogeneous between the sectors producing the monitored goods and the other sectors. We conclude that it is necessary to take into consideration that the set of mentioned policies influences not only inflation, but also the functional distribution of income. Also, we see that some determined inflation rate can be achieved with several different distributive outcomes, depending on the set of policies adopted.

Desenvolvimento e Estagnação: O debate entre desenvolvimentistas e liberais neoclássico

2023-10-06T11:33:20-03:00

Resenha - Desenvolvimento e Estagnação: O debate entre desenvolvimentistas e liberais neoclássico