This important new book introduces, analyzes and takes forward a post-Keynesian theory of the firm. It makes a vital contribution to the conceptualisation of uncertainty that is consistent with the methodological presuppositions of Post Keynesian economics. The author attempts to make a positive contribution to the development of Post Keynesian economics by refuting allegations of incoherence, detailing some of the salient implications of a transmutable conception of economic processes and then starting to explore what this means for how Post Keynesians conceptualise uncertainty. The book argues that the Post Keynesian distinctive view of time, understood as a non-deterministic open systems process, is a core and defining characteristic which is linked to its theoretical discussion of money and the principle of effective demand. Covering areas such as the coherence of Post Keynesianism, the future of Post Keynesian economics and Keynesian methodological debates, this book is useful reading for all Post Keynesian scholars with a strong interest in economic methodology and the philosophical underpinnings of economics.

Within Post-Keynesian economics there is a spectrum of approaches to theories of the firm but what they have in common, to their great benefit, is a proper integration of the concept of radical uncertainty: data that cannot be known. This book revisits Kalecki’s theory of the firm is located to show that it constitutes fertile theoretical ground on which to systematically understand the resultant indeterminacy when firms operate under conditions of radical uncertainty. The author proposes a way of generalising radical uncertainty by integrating some of the separate approaches within Post-Keynesian economics centred around Kalecki’s work. Through this, it is shown that radical uncertainty does more than just change the ultimate motivation of firms (dropping short run profit maximisation; more complex motivation; interconnectivity with the environment), it is central to the emergence, existence and motivation of firms, and critically also firm strategy. It is argued that firms do not simply respond to uncertainty: it is the systematic cause of their intentional behaviour. Through developing these arguments, the book also contributes to the methodology of Kalecki and Shackle, as well as Kaleckian price theory. This book will be important reading for anyone interested in theories of the firm, Post-Keynesian economics and heterodox approaches to economics more broadly.

This visionary Research Handbook presents the state of the art in research on policy design. By conceiving policy design both as a theoretical and a methodological framework, it provides scholars and practitioners with guidance on understanding policy problems and devising accurate solutions.

These two volumes cover the principal areas to which Post-Keynesian economists have made distinctive contributions. The contents include the significant criticism by Post-Keynesians of mainstream economics, but the emphasis is on positive Post-Keynesian analysis of the economic problems of the modern world and of policies with which to tackle them.

The Elgar Companion to Post Keynesian Economics is a comprehensive guide to economic analyses in the tradition of Keynes and the so-called Cambridge (UK) school of economics. The coverage of themes and different theoretical orientations within Post Keynesianism is remarkable and the quality of the various entries is impressive. John Kings invisible hand is responsible for a minimum of overlaps and an optimum in quality and comprehensibility. This book has already proved to be of interest to a wide range of economists and can be expected to continue to do so for a long time to come. Heinz D. Kurz, University of Graz, Austria This thoroughly revised and updated second edition provides a comprehensive guide to Post Keynesian methodology, theory and policy prescriptions. The Companion reflects the challenges posed by the global financial crisis that began in 2008 and by the consolidation of the New Neoclassical Synthesis in macroeconomic theory. There are 41 entirely new entries, marking the emergence of a new generation of Post Keynesian scholars. The central issues that were dealt with in the first edition remain at the core of the book, but much more attention is paid in this second edition to financial markets, to Post Keynesian economics outside its traditional Anglo-American heartland and to gender issues and environmental policy. Including major theoretical, methodological and policy issues in Post Keynesian economics, this enriching Companion will strongly appeal to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in economics as well as related social science disciplines including international political economy, international relations, politics, public policy and sociology.

This volume concentrates on contemporary Post-Keynesian contributions in money, method and economic policy. Post-Keynesian economics shares with Keynes the ambition of understanding the economy as a whole and as an integrated part of society. The book begins by analysing money, banks and finance as dynamic phenomena, followed by chapters focusing on methodological themes such as uncertainty, longer-term issues, sustainability and other non-monetary economic activities.

Argues that it is possible to construct a coherent alternative to neo-classical economics based on the contributions of post-Keynesian and neo-Ricardian economists. It identifies elements from various non-orthodox traditions that can be used to construct an alternative theoretical framework.

Rejecting much of mainstream economic theory for being too passive, this book argues that the innovative and unpredictable nature of economic phenomena is better understood with analytical devices, which allow for more creative and participatory analysis. As is demonstrated, this has significant implications for our understanding of production, money, and finance. The book introduces the concept of "production commitments": the expectation of a producer that others in the chain will produce their corresponding output. This expectation forms the basis of all specialized production in the economy. And being at the center of the process of specialization, production commitments are the most basic form of finance. Unless they are purely redistributive, money and monetary financial assets are valuable to the production process as long as they represent outstanding production commitments. It is also demonstrated that this new way of looking at finance is better grasped with an input-output framework than with the traditional probabilistic two-factor general equilibrium approach. By combining the Sraffa-Pasinetti approach to "expectation" with G.L.S. Shackle’s "potential surprise function", the book posits an alternative to the standard modern portfolio theory view of finance. Understanding production commitments through the Sraffa-Pasinetti framework also allows for an assessment of the compatibility between outstanding financial assets and a given or expected structure of production. This book will be of great interest to readers of post-Keynesian economics and other alternative approaches to economic theory, production, and financial economics.

The Routledge Handbook of Heterodox Economics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest work on economic theory and policy from a ‘pluralistic’ heterodox perspective. Contributions throughout the Handbook explore different theoretical perspectives including: Marxian-radical political economics; Post Keynesian-Sraffian economics; institutionalist-evolutionary economics; feminist economics; social economics; Régulation theory; the Social Structure of Accumulation approach; and ecological economics. They explain the structural properties and dynamics of capitalism, as well as propose economic and social policies for the benefit of the majority of the population. This book aims, firstly, to provide realistic and coherent theoretical frameworks to understand the capitalist economy in a constructive and forward-looking manner. Secondly, it delineates the future directions, as well as the current state, of heterodox economics, and then provides both ‘heat and light’ on controversial issues, drawing out the commonalities and differences among different heterodox economic approaches. The volume also envisions transformative economic and social policies for the majority of the population and explains why economics is, and should be treated as, a social science. This Handbook will be of compelling interest to those, including students, who wish to learn about alternative economic theories and policies that are rarely found in conventional economics textbooks or discussed in the mainstream media, and to critical economists and other social scientists who are concerned with analyzing pressing socio-economic issues.

This book is the first volume in a three-volume series that takes an in-depth look at the relevance of Marx's economics for understanding the modern economy. The focus of this volume is the money prices of commodities. In light of the failure of central banks to stimulate inflation through printing of money, it is now accepted that there are problems with the mainstream approach to the explanation of prices. Howard Nicholas underlines the shortcomings of this and other approaches to the explanation of prices, particularly their concepts of the value of the commodity and money. He argues the problems with all other approaches are manifest in their inability to explain the changes in the relative prices of commodities, taking place in the context of changes in the aggregate money price level as well as independently. He contends that of paramount importance in Marx’s explanation is that prices are set by producers prior to putting their commodities into the process of circulation, undermining the notion they are determined by the supply of and demand for the commodities in the process of exchange. Marx’s approach to the explanation of prices is also contrasted with those of Neoclassicals, Post-Keynesians and Sraffa, with a view to highlighting the shortcomings in these approaches as bases for their understanding and explanations of money and prices. This book will be of interest to academics and students of price theory, money and finance, political economy, and the history of economic thought.