Consistency and stability analysis of models of a monetary growth imperative

Oliver Richters and Andreas Siemoneit

Ecological Economics, 2017, vol. 136, issue C, 114-125

Abstract: Is fostering economic growth ‘only’ a question of political will or ‘unavoidable’ to maintain economic stability? It is disputed whether such a ‘growth imperative’ is located within the current monetary system, creating conflicts with sustainability. To examine the claim that compound interest compels economies to grow, we present five post-Keynesian models and show how to perform a stability analysis in the parameter space. A stationary state with zero net saving and investment can be reached with positive interest rates, if the parameter ‘consumption out of wealth’ is above a threshold that rises with the interest rate. The other claim that retained profits from the interest revenues of banks create an imperative is based on circuitist models that we consider refutable. Their accounting is inconsistent, and a modeling assumption central for a growth imperative is not underpinned theoretically: Bank's equity capital has to increase even if debt does not. This is a discrepancy between the authors' intentions in their texts and their actual models. We conclude that a monetary system based on interest-bearing debt-money with private banks does not lead to an ‘inherent’ growth imperative. If the stationary state is unstable, it is caused by agents' decisions, not by structural inevitableness.

Keywords: Ecological macroeconomics; Zero growth; Growth imperative; Monetary economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E12 E43 O44 Q01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:136:y:2017:i:c:p:114-125

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.01.017

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