John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946)

Abstract

This chapter traces the career of John Maynard Keynes, paying particular attention to two aspects: the development of his monetary theory between 1924 and 1938 (the years of A Treatise on Money and The General Theory) and his various proposals for international monetary reform between 1929 and 1946 (from A Treatise on Money to the Clearing Union and the International Monetary Fund). Emphasis is placed on the varied sources of inspiration and, over time, how he became more collaborative and more open to stimulation from others. In both cases, the culmination comes with the Second World War in domestic and international economic policy where the previous development of new theories and tools in domestic economic policy (national income accounting) and broader attempts at wartime and post-war international collaboration saw Keynes involved on many fronts, most notably Lend–Lease and its progeny (the Clearing Union and the International Trade Organization).