The Keynesian Revolution, Then and Now

Robert Eisner has made a seminal contribution to the development of macroeconomic analysis in the latter half of the twentieth century. This carefully edited selection of his essays traces the development of economic thought in the wake of the Keynesian revolution and offers a critique of the neoclassical contribution to economic analysis and major macroeconomic policy issues.

Professor Eisner is fundamentally concerned with the determinants of employment and growth in a market economy. In this book, he provides a rigorous analysis of the permanent income hypothesis, the multiplier, interest rates, the liquidity trap, consumption and saving, depreciation, unemployment and growth models. He goes on to examine fiscal and monetary policy and the measurement and effects of budget deficits over the post-war period, challenging the view that budget deficits should necessarily be avoided. Professor Eisner also offers new measures of saving, investment and national income and product, which provide new insights into the economic factors affecting current welfare and future growth. Finally, he discusses the importance of full employment and criticises the idea that there is a natural rate of unemployment.