| Abstract: | Depending on one’s vision as to the inherent stability or instability of a market economy, credit either enhances stability or promotes instability. As such, credit either supports or retards social provisioning. Two representative approaches to the role of credit are compared: a DSGE framework and a modern variation of classical political economy. The implications of vision for methodological features are traced. The paper discusses empirical patterns for the American experience since the mid-1970s with respect to their consistency with the visions. If a market economy is inherently unstable, economic and financial stability requires more than monetary policy. |
