An economic policy for the fifth long wave

Angelo Reati and Jan Toporowski
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Jan Toporowski: University of Amsterdam

GE, Growth, Math methods from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The paper starts by reviewing a recent contribution on long-waves, in order to recall the essential points of a theory that, better than any other, is able to explain the long term development of capitalist economies. Considering that the present technological revolution in ICT is part of the broad phenomenon of a new long wave, it follows that the main focus of economic policy should be to support the diffusion of the new technological style and to favour the institutional changes required by such an objective. On the basis of a selective view of what is deemed crucial to foster the full implementation of the new long wave, four broad guidelines are suggested: (i) a Keynesian policy for demand; (ii) a policy to re-establish the primacy of productive capital through systematic concerted open market operations to regulate liquidity in the financial markets; (iii) a reconstruction of the employment relationship that, while taking into consideration the requirements of the new technological paradigm, preserves the essential features of the “European social model”; a targeted flexibility of labour, that contrasts with the all-out market flexibility that results from the neoclassical theory, is also suggested; (iv) a regime for intellectual property rights that avoids the drawbacks – both ethical and economic – of current US practices.

Keywords: long-waves (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C6 D5 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2005-10-21
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac and nep-pke
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 43. published in BNL Quarterly Review n. 231, December 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: An economic policy for the fifth long wave (2009)
Journal Article: An economic policy for the fifth long wave (2004)
Journal Article: An economic policy for the fifth long wave (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwpge:0510008

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