Toward a New Instrumental Macroeconomics: Abba Lerner and Adolph Lowe on Economic Method, Theory, History, and Policy

Mathew Forstater
Additional contact information
Mathew Forstater: The Jerome Levy Economics Institute

Macroeconomics from EconWPA

Abstract: This paper argues that the ideas of Abba Lerner and Adolph Lowe contain overlapping and complementary insights and themes that may contribute to the development of a new approach to macroeconomics, and that have rather specific practical policy implications. Lerner's notions of functional finance and money as a creature of the state are combined with Lowe's structural analysis to forge an approach to macroeconomic theory and policy that considers both aggregate proportionality and balance and sectoral relations, and that addresses issues regarding monetary production and effective demand, as well as ongoing structural and technological change. Such a "New Instrumental Macroeconomics," focusing on full employment, price stability, and a decent standard of living for all, has important points of contact with recent proposals promoting job opportunities through direct job creation, with a Public Service Corps that benefits communities while serving as a buffer stock of labor providing price stability.

JEL-codes: E (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998-11-17
Note: Type of Document - Acrobat PDF; prepared on IBM PC; to print on PostScript; pages: 20; figures: included
View list of references

Downloads: (external link)
http://129.3.20.41/eps/mac/papers/9811/9811003.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Macroeconomics from EconWPA
Series data maintained by EconWPA ().