Money and Government: The Past and Future of Economics

A critical examination of economics's past and future, and how it needs to change, by one of the most eminent political economists of our time

The dominant view in economics is that money and government should play only a minor role in economic life. Economic outcomes, it is claimed, are best left to the "invisible hand" of the market. Yet these claims remain staunchly unsettled. The view taken in this important new book is that the omnipresence of uncertainty makes money and government essential features of any market economy.

Since Adam Smith, classical economics has espoused nonintervention in markets. The Great Depression brought Keynesian economics to the fore, but stagflation in the 1970s brought a return to small-state orthodoxy. The 2008 global financial crash should have brought a reevaluation of that stance; instead the response has been punishing austerity and anemic recovery. This book aims to reintroduce Keynes's central insights to a new generation of economists, and embolden them to return money and government to the starring roles in the economic drama that they deserve.

Author: Robert Skidelsky
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 09/24/2019
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.46lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.70w x 1.10d
ISBN13: 9780300248623
ISBN10: 0300248628
BISAC Categories:
- Business & Economics | Economics | Macroeconomics
- Political Science | Public Policy | Economic Policy
- Business & Economics | Money & Monetary Policy

About the Author
Robert Skidelsky is emeritus professor of political economy at the University of Warwick. He is the author of many books, most notably a three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes.