Examining Two of Keynes’s Most Popular Statements—Wasteful Public Spending Can Be Acceptable, and, In The Long Run We Are All Dead—Yields Some Surprising Implications

William Beranek and David R. Kamerschen

The American Economist, 2016, vol. 61, issue 2, 263-267

Abstract: Analysis shows that John Maynard Keynes likely interpreted the concept “long run†as reflecting the dimension of calendar time, rather than operational time. More importantly, Keynes was not the advocate of wasteful spending as usually believed. He actually placed strong restrictions on this prescription; it was not an unconditional invitation to raid the public larder. Journalists, politicians, and many economists have overstated his ardor for wasteful spending.

Keywords: Keynes; long run; fiscal policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B22 E62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:amerec:v:61:y:2016:i:2:p:263-267

DOI: 10.1177/0569434516653848

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