The Stories That Economists Tell: Mainstream,Hyman Minsky,and Institutional Views of Consumer Behavior

The financial crisis of 2008 provided an informal test of mainstream and institutional views of consumer behavior. The test posed by the financial crisis assumes the form of a “story.” A successful story provides a reasonably coherent explanation of events, confirming our beliefs and justifying our policies. First, the article examines the failure of mainstream economics to present a coherent story of consumer behavior. Ignoring the relevance of assumptions, as Milton Friedman advocated, leads economists to hypostasize the model, filtering information central to the crisis. Second, Minsky’s discussion of consumer behavior and its effect on cash inflows to businesses represents an institutional explanation regarding why John Maynard Keynes’s long-run vision did not occur. The third section expands on some of the themes addressed by Minsky, which are found among the contributions of institutional economists, focusing on efforts to mold institutions to increase cash inflows to corporations and protect those inflows.