Introduction to the history, contours, and frontiers of Post-Keynesian Institutional economics

Abstract

This chapter introduces Post-Keynesian Institutional economics - often called Post-Keynesian Institutionalism (PKI) - as well as the contents of this Modern Guide. The first section surveys the history of PKI; it shows that this branch of Institutional economics has consistently been ahead of the economic mainstream in shedding light on real-world problems. The second section draws on the work of economists such as John Kenneth Galbraith, Joan Robinson, Alfred Eichner, and Hyman Minsky to sketch the methodological, analytical, and policy contours of PKI, including the tradition's attention to the institutional characteristics of labor and product markets, features of industrial organization, interrelations of finance and macroeconomics, and long-term trends in capitalist development. The third section identifies the frontiers of PKI, and, in the process, introduces this book's chapters and themes. Those themes include extending recent analyses of pressing economic problems, sharpening concepts and methods, crafting new theories, and synthesizing ideas across different research traditions.