Vicarelli,Keynes, and the unstable nexus between investment,liquidity, and finance

The goal of this article is to reconstruct Keynes’s vision of the unstable nexus between investment, liquidity and finance, as set out by the Italian economist Fausto Vicarelli (1936–1986). As argued in the article, one of Vicarelli’s main contributions consists of explaining the inherent instability of financially sophisticated capitalist economies in terms of the interaction (and double dissociation) between investment, saving, and stock-holding decisions, within a Keynesian framework characterized by the presence of fundamental uncertainty. While Vicarelli’s interpretation of Keynes is best understood in the context of the post-Keynesian literature, its relevance goes beyond that, as its sheds light on current issues related to the post-2008 financial crisis and its policy implications.     

Insights on endogenous money and the liquidity preference theory of interest

It is argued that the debate between “structuralist” and “horizontalist” has long been obscured because of inadequate treatment, in both approaches, of the credit-money supply and of the total money supply. As a result, endogenous money models still have serious limitations today. On the one hand, the bank loan markup and the loan interest rate are exogenous in the horizontalist model, which supposes that they do not depend on the money/liquidity market conditions (as if bank loans did not compete with the existing liquidity). On the other hand, although interest rates are endogenous in the structuralist model, they result from inappropriate treatment of the loan supply and money/liquidity supply. This article aims to remove these shortcomings. It offers a theoretical framework and formal modeling where the creditworthy demand for loans determines the bank loan supply, given the central bank refinancing interest rate, while the total supply and demand for liquidity-money determines the markup and the market rate of interest in accordance with Keynes’s liquidity preference theory. In this framework, the post Keynesian theory of endogenous money and Keynes’s “verticalist” view prove to be analytically complementary.     

An Alternative Post-Keynesian Framework for Understanding Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

This article contributes to the establishment of a framework for the analysis of international capital flows, with a specific focus on emerging markets. It is based on a “monetary” analysis of the economy, as well as on the works of Hyman Minsky and Jan Toporowski in particular. The key aspects of such an approach are the following. First, in a monetary economy, capital flows need to be understood as “flows of funds” that pertain to the realm of financial choices, as opposed to the traditional understanding of capital flows as based on “real” variables, such as saving and investment. A consequence of this is the need to focus on gross flows rather than capital flows. Second, liquidity preference considerations also apply at the international level, particularly in relation to the liquidity of emerging-market currencies that, in turn, depends on context-specific “Keynesian fundamentals.” Third, the rise of institutional investors is the key historical development in the financial system, shaping the current reality of cross-border capital flows, including to emerging markets. I argue that institutional investors’ liabilities, in light of the theories of Minsky and Toporowski, are one of the most important variables in determining these investors’ portfolio choices. I synthesize these elements by defining capital flows to emerging markets as the demand for emerging-market assets by institutional investors. I propose a framework to categorize the various channels that guide this demand.     

Endogenous Money: A Note on Some Post-Keynesian Controversies

Keynes's theory of liquidity preference sought to illuminate the essential properties of money under the conditions of uncertainty that often lead to involuntary unemployment. Subsequent Post-Keynesian literature built upon this concept to show that a deregulated financial system could induce phases of endemic financial instability and crises. Keynes's finance motive provides an important starting point in Post-Keynesian theories of endogenous money. This article examines the controversies between two major contending analytical approaches, the Horizontalist and Structuralist schools.     

Bank liquidity risk and monetary policy. Empirical evidence on the impact of Basel III liquidity standards

We extend the literature on the bank lending channel in two aspects. First, rather than following the literature by analyzing the impact of banks’ liquidity (measured via their asset portfolio) on monetary policy transmission, we study the role of banks’ actual liquidity risk, as measured by the Basel III liquidity regulations. Second, we investigate the effect of complying with the Basel III liquidity standards on monetary policy transmission. We use highly detailed bank-level data from Luxembourg for the period 2003q1--2010q4. Our findings are that monetary policy transmission works its way through small banks that also have a large maturity mismatch, as measured by the Net Stable Funding Ratio. In contrast, large banks with a small maturity mismatch increase their lending following a monetary policy shock, which confirms existing results that Luxembourg’s banks are liquidity providers to the European market. Based upon in-sample predictions and upon simulated data from an optimization model that takes the banks’ business models into account, we conclude that the bank lending channel will no longer be effective once banks adhere to the new Basel III liquidity regulations.     

Systems of innovation and innovation ecosystems: a literature review in search of complementarities

This paper aims to clarify to what extent the emerging theory of innovation ecosystems (IE) and the theory of systems of innovation (SI) are complementary and then identify how its communities could benefit from cross-fertilization. We performed a critical literature review of both topics using meta-synthesis as method to identify, analyze and compare the two theories. Using a framework, this paper explores the elements belonging to each theory’s domain, in order to identify the key factors necessary to compare the two theories. The results of this analysis show that both theories involve the assessment of three key aspects: the understanding of innovation activities, the role of the agents involved, and the interaction and resulting networks among them. A similarity was found showing that these two different theories are applications of System Thinking approach. Another finding, which has not been mentioned in previous research on the topic, is that the construction of the initial concepts of the IE theory was originally rooted in several SI elements. Finally, we found key factors that may be the cross-fertilization link between the two communities that represent each theory.     

Keynes against Kalecki on economic method

In the past twenty years, there has been considerable debate on the “coherence” of post Keynesian economics, in view of post Keynesian economists’ ambitions to develop a paradigmatic alternative to neoclassical economics. Given the growing importance of methodological aspects in this discussion, this article addresses the differences of approach to economic theory between the fathers of the two most important strands in post Keynesian economics. We thus focus on Keynes’s criticism of Kalecki’s theory of the business cycle and the tensions between Keynes’s logical approach and Kaleki’s formal modeling. We show that in criticizing Kalecki’s theory, Keynes made use of the same methodological criticism (based on detecting logical fallacies in reasoning) he had employed to attack both the classical theory and contemporary “pseudo-mathematical” models. After illustrating these fundamental differences between Keynes and Kalecki about the proper way of doing economics, we draw some conclusions on the possible future evolution of post Keynesian economics.     

我国公共财政理论创新与进一步发展

我国公共财政理论的产生发展是市场经济改革实践发展的要求与结果,具有其积极的理论创新意义。但由于理论渊源上的原因,使得西方新古典主流经济学在制度分析上的不足和欠缺延伸并体现在我国现有的公共财政理论上。我国公共财政理论需要超越西方主流经济学及其公共财政学的制度既定观,以进一步推进我国公共财政理论的发展。     

International Markets and Open Economy Macroeconomics: a Keynesian view

This paper attempts to sketch a Keynesian response to the gap between the reality of international capital markets and the ‘standard paradigm’ of economic theory that underpins the policy model offered to poor countries in relation to their participation in the world economy and their national macroeconomic management. Recent work on imperfect markets, much of it from self-styled ‘New Keynesian’ point of view, implies a substantial modification of this standard paradigm to allow for non-price clearing but this does not appear to to have been integrated with new trade theories, while the implications of systemic volatility and credit rationing behaviour have not been theorized. The paper suggests that a return to Keynes's original approach to investor uncertainty and global demand might not only help to integrate international macroeconomic theory in a plausible manner but also contribute to the foumulation of more desirable policy positions.     

Economic Theory and the Problem of Translation

Institutionalism was the dominant approach to public finance prior to WWII, after which it was eclipsed by Pigouvianism and Keynesianism. This transition defined the career of Wisconsin’s Harold M. Groves (1897–1969). Groves was a notable public finance economist, leading textbook author, and drafter of significant tax and labor legislation. He represented the culmination of a multigenerational institutionalist tradition. In this paper, I examine Groves and postwar public finance as a test case for the legacy of Wisconsin institutionalism. To that end, I consider Groves’s contributions to postwar tax policy, his interactions with Henry C. Simons and Richard M. Musgrave, and his view on Keynesian public finance. I identify some Wisconsin institutionalist contributions to modern public finance and offer an explanation for the postwar decline in institutional public finance.     

Industrial Policies and the Macroeconomic Effects of Taxation: some comments

Comments are made by Amable & Petit (1996), which examines industrial policies, and by Mair & Laramie (1996), which examines taxation policies. Agreement is found with both papers that modern Keynesian policy has much to offer in these two areas beyond what is generally presumed. Expectations formation is pointed to as one area that both these papers should more explicitly incorporate in their arguments. Similarly, regional considerations and ‘location competition’ are held to be important considerations. The role of finance is pointed to as a fundamental Keynesian consideration that needs to be addressed in effectively formulating industrial and taxation policies.     

创新型增长视角下的金融发展：综述及展望

传统经济增长理论分析框架下,金融系统只影响资本形成,并不创造社会财富,它对经济增长的作用只有水平效应而没有增长效应。新增长理论,尤其是熊彼特增长理论．突破了新古典增长理论关于技术进步的外生性假设,强调资本积累和创新是促进技术进步和经济增长的重要力量,这为研究金融体系对技术进步和经济增长的促进作用提供了全新视角。当前,中国金融发展现状与创新型增长要求之间存在一定程度的不相容性,需要在制度、政策和监管体系上不断完善与变革,逐步实现科技创新和金融发展的良性互动。     

论凯恩斯宏观经济理论的现实主义取向及借鉴价值

宏观经济理论发展至今已历七十余载.在此期间,宏观经济理论研究范式已经发生了重大转变,而导因仍在"凯恩斯革命".本文结合对目前宏观经济理论发展所面临的困惑和盲区的剖析,回顾凯恩斯经济理论中所蕴含的现实主义取向和方法论特色,以期对宏观经济理论研究的发展尤其是对基于中国现实的科学发展经济学研究有借鉴和参考意义.     

Fiscal Policy,Monetary Policy and the Mechanics of Modern Clearing and Settlement Systems

Thomas Palley, Eric Tymoigne and Randall Wray recently debated neo-Chartalism in this journal. This article argues that the mechanics of modern clearing and settlement systems is important to understanding this debate. In the neo-Chartalist framework taxes and bond issuance function as part of monetary policy; it is an alternative method for draining reserves to obtain the overnight target rate. Abba Lerner’s Chartalist framework is much clearer on public finance, noting that the federal government can use alternative financing methods to pay for expenditures. Palley’s concerns with central bank ‘money financing’ and inflation are unpersuasive. The Old Keynesian ‘budget restraint– high-powered money relation’ offers limited insight into modern clearing and settlement systems. The article concludes that policymakers should embrace Lerner’s advice and view ‘money printing’ as a normal policy instrument to support functional finance.     

后凯恩斯主义经济学的货币非中性理论

后凯恩斯主义经济学的突出贡献是将凯恩斯关于不确定性和货币非中性思想发展为一个完整的关于货币非中性的理论框架,它强调无论是长期还是短期,货币都是影响真实部门的一个重要因素。后凯恩斯主义的货币理论在凯恩斯的灵活偏好理论中加入融资性需求,这样就必然导致存量和流量的矛盾,从而造成利息率的不确定性和波动性;从不同角度分析了货币的创造过程,提出了内生货币供给理论。这一理论完全是与主流经济学所信奉的货币数量论对立的,从而拒绝资本主义经济自然趋于长期充分就业均衡的概念。     

Expectation,volatility and liquidity in the housing market

Measuring housing price volatility is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of housing price risk. This article aims to explore whether a liquidity factor plays a role in explaining the second moment (i.e. the volatility) of housing prices. Housing price volatility is measured as the conditional variance of a Generalized Auto Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model under the Adaptive Expectations framework. The empirical evidence reveals that volatility transmits from smaller housing units to larger housing units, which indirectly supports the trade-up effect discussed in the literature. In addition, less liquid housing classes are more sensitive to unexpected liquidity shocks, and the starter housing class is extraordinarily sensitive to negative liquidity shocks. Consistent with friction search theory, pricing errors are alleviated as the trading volume increases, because the valuation price tends to be more accurate as more information is available.     

金融市场的分形和混沌研究综述

主流的金融计量理论是以价格的随机游走和收益的正态分布假设为基础的,而时金融市场价格的分形和混沌研究,则从非线性的角度揭示金融价格的波动规律,并对主流金融计量理论提出了争议和挑战.本文对金融市场的分形和混沌研究做了全面综述,并进行了评价和展望.阐述了这些研究的意义,揭示了经济变量和金融市场价格的非线性特征,并对其机制进行了深入分析.不足之处是这些研究还不能很好地应用于实际经济和金融过程,去解决实际的问题.在定价、建模和预测方面还面临很多困难.对金融市场的非线性研究,让我们对现实世界的理解更加深入和精细.但这些研究并不意味着否定传统经济学理论.正是在不同理论的不断争论和互相印证的过程中,推动金融计量理论不断向前发展.     

市场竞争、银行市场势力与流动性创造效率—来自中国银行业的证据

商业银行是中国社会融资的主要渠道,银行向社会提供流动性的效率直接决定了社会融资的效率.为弥补流动性创造研究在效率和中观层面的不足,文章采用中国商业银行2000?2015年微观数据,探讨了市场竞争、银行市场势力与流动性创造效率之间的关系,得到以下结论:(1)市场竞争与流动性创造效率之间存在倒U形关系,中国银行业存在最优的市场结构;(2)银行市场势力过强是中国商业银行流动性创造效率较低的重要原因,银行市场势力越强,其流动性创造效率越低;(3)市场竞争程度与市场势力的流动性创造效率系数之间存在不显著的负相关关系,寄希望于通过增强中国银行业竞争程度来改善银行市场势力过强所导致的流动性创造效率过低,作用可能非常有限.中国应沿着"增强商业银行流动性创造能力,扩大直接融资规模"的改革方向继续前进.文章的研究丰富了已有文献,而且为中国银行体系改革的顶层设计提供了重要参考.     

异质信念资产定价研究

从随机游走、行为金融到混沌，从现代资产定价理论、行为资产定价理论到异质信念资产定价理论，3种学说和3种定价理论同时存在干当今资本市场的研究中，它们分别从不同方面、不同视角解释了资产价格的波动。本文的研究理清了3种重要定价理论之间的关系：理性与有限理性，线性与非线性，价格波动的外在机制与内在机制，为人们进一步研究资产定价理论提供了清晰的脉络。     

Keynes at the periphery: Currency hierarchy and challenges for economic policy in emerging economies

While the post Keynesian literature offers a rather clear concept for growth-oriented policies, it is necessary to adapt them for peripheral emerging economies. We base our analysis of an appropriate Keynesian policy mix for these countries on the concept of currency hierarchy, where the currencies of peripheral emerging economies have a lower liquidity premium than the currencies of advanced economies. The international asymmetry related to the currency hierarchy, amplified by financial globalization, imposes major constraints to the adoption of Keynesian policies for these economies. Under these conditions, we argue that domestic economic policy coordination should lay a major focus on a low policy rate and, especially, a competitive exchange rate for obtaining, at least, a balanced current account, in order to prevent capital flows boom-bust-cycles with subsequent financial crises. We conclude that it is a rather ambitious and long-term goal to climb up the currency hierarchy, especially under the current condition of financial globalization.