Silencing the Sirens: The Odyssey of Post-Keynesian Institutionalism in Revitalizing Capital Formation in Ukraine’s Post-War Economy

Abstract

This article illuminates the potential contribution of Post-Keynesian Institutionalism (PKI), especially in its Kaleckian complexion, to the debate concerning Ukraine’s post-war economic recovery. It explores how Ukraine can restore its productive capacity after having lost sixty percent of its industrial potential due to the Russo-Ukraine war, juxtaposes existing approaches to financing capital formation in the country, and questions the role of foreign capital, especially foreign direct investment, in this process. The article’s first section exposes the dangers associated with adopting predatory and increasingly globalized structures of money manager capitalism for financing capital accumulation in vulnerable economies such as Ukraine. The second expands the Post-Keynesian Institutionalist approach to capital formation to include emerging and developing economies. Specifically, it brings under consideration the important contribution of Michal Kalecki (1899–1970) to the analysis of capital formation in less-advanced industrialized market economies, a category to which Ukraine belongs at present. To date, this part of Kalecki’s legacy has not been considered in the Post-Keynesian Institutionalist argument. Drawing on the works of Kalecki and PKI scholars, the article sketches an alternative reconstruction strategy for Ukraine.