THEORIES OF MONOPOLY CAPITALISM

Abstract. This article presents a survey of theories of monopoly capitalism. The defining characteristic of monopoly capitalism is that developed capitalist economies are seen as essentially dominated by firms which operate in oligopolistic industries. It discusses in chronological order the contributions of Hilferding, Lenin, Kalecki, Steindl, Baran and Sweezy, and Cowling to the monopoly capitalism approach. By drawing out some common features of the authors discussed we arrive at an implicit view of the nature of theories of monopoly capitalism. The macroeconomic aspects of monopoly capitalism are discussed with emphasis on the implications for the level of economic activity. A further section discusses the international aspects of the monopoly capital approach. The final section of the paper reviews criticisms of the theories of monopoly capitalism with concentration on those advanced from a Marxist perspective.     

关于宏观经济学研究范围的思考

宏观经济学其实"很窄",它不"是大的"、"无所不包的"经济学,而只是从一个特定角度对经济的研究。宏观经济学"是短期经济学",其着眼点是经济的短期波动而不是长期增长。宏观经济学"是治标经济学",它没有解"决深层次矛盾"和提"供治本之策"的任务,不能期望宏观经济学家去解决体制改革和结构调整这类长期性的根本问题。     

The “Treasury View”: An (un-)expected return?

Abstract

By examining the rhetorical use of an old piece of economic theory by some contemporary economists, this paper intends to report on “how today's economists conduct a public policy debate”. This paper is neither a scholarly history of the interwar debate nor a sophisticated critique of current economic policy. It is an attempt to link the policy and theoretical arguments of two similar debates separated by nearly 80 years. The second part of the paper demonstrates that the (un-)expected return of the Treasury View is a case study illustrating two very different modelling strategies.     

The Viability of Commodity Cartels: The Case of Oil

By applying an elasticity of demand analysis, the author explains the rise and fall of the oil cartel. This article will be of special interest in inttermediate micro, industrial organization, and “contemporary problems” courses.     

The BMW Model: A New Framework for Teaching Monetary Economics

Abstract: Although the IS/LM-AS/AD model is still the central tool of macroeconomic teaching in most macroeconomic textbooks, it has been criticized by several economists. Colander (1995) demonstrated that the framework is logically inconsistent, Romer (2000) showed that it is unable to deal with a monetary policy that uses the interest rate as its operating target, and Walsh criticized that it is not well suited for an analysis of inflation targeting. The authors present a framework that develops the Romer approach into a very simple but, at the same time, comprehensive macroeconomic model. In spite of its simplicity, it can carry the main insights of the New Keynesian macroeconomics to an intermediate level and deal with issues like inflation targeting, monetary policy rules, and central bank credibility.     

Brunner and Leijonhufvud: friends or foes?

Karl Brunner and Axel Leijonhufvud constantly pointed out the prominence of imperfect information in macroeconomic analysis. This paper argues that, despite strong oppositions related to their rival schools of thought, this emphasis on informational problems led them to adopt similar views on many theoretical and methodological issues. These issues encompass the perception of the economic agent in society, the theory of price inflexibility and unemployment, the role of relative prices, the importance of signal-extraction problems and the position within the Marshall-Walras divide.     

Analysing Mechanism of an Economic Phase

In this paper, we define the thetical and antithetical phases of macroeconomy on a formal basis. And we formulate a bubble economy and its collapse by using these definitions. The concept of thetical and antithetical phases is introduced into economics by Kinoshita. In the course of discussion, we also make clear the difference between economic growth and bubble economy, while describing a mechanism of collapse of a bubble economy by using a simple macro-economic model instead of a specific model. As a result, we can analyse not only the state of thetical economy phase, and antithetical economy phase, but also bubble economy phase and bubble bursting economy phase. And we can describe mechanism of transitions among four economic phases.     

西方外汇干预预期传导途径理论演进——兼评当前金融经济形势下中国外汇干预实践

在西方各国从固定汇率制向浮动汇率制过渡的过程中,外汇干预的力度不仅没有被削弱,反而表现出不断加强的趋势。这与外汇干预稳定汇率预期、平滑经济波动的作用是密切相关的。中国自2005年7月宣布人民币汇率形成机制改革,参考一篮子货币进行调节以后,如何通过外汇干预引导市场预期,使汇率变动向有利于宏观经济稳定的方向发展,已成为学术界研究的热点。文章旨在总结西方国家外汇干预的预期传导途径理论,并将其与中国当前所面临的世界性次贷金融经济风险相结合,希望能为中国的外汇干预实践提供助力。     

宏观经济学中的长期与短期

宏观经济中的长期和短期因素交织在一起并且相互作用。现代宏观经济学主要依据工资和价格调整速度来界定长期和短期,研究宏观经济变量的长期和短期决定,运用不同模型分析长期问题和短期问题,从长期和短期视角考察宏观经济政策效应,并试图通过长期和短期相结合的方法兼容宏观经济学主要流派的理论分歧。     

A Simple Model to Teach Business Cycle Macroeconomics for Emerging Market and Developing Economies

The canonical neoclassical model is insufficient to understand business cycle fluctuations in emerging market and developing economies. The author reformulates the model proposed by Aguiar and Gopinath (2007 Ahumada, I., and F. Butler. 2009. La enseñanza de la economía en México. Working Paper 672. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Google Scholar]) in a simple setting that can be used to teach business cycle macroeconomics for emerging market and developing economies at the undergraduate level. The simplified model is employed for qualitatively explaining facts such as the highly countercyclicality of the trade balance and the higher volatility of output and consumption compared with those observed in advanced countries.