These essays place the historical Keynes in the context of his own times to study the economic doctrines associated with his name. The author explores Keynes' major works and ideas: his thoughts on uncertainty and confidence; and his commitment to the politics of persuasion.

This study examines the pioneering economic work by John Maynard Keynes, "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money", and attempts to explain, with constant reference to the original sources, the complexity of Keynes' theories and the critical response they evoked.

John Maynard Keynes, then a rising young economist, participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as chief representative of the British Treasury and advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He resigned after desperately trying and failing to reduce the huge demands for reparations being made on Germany. The Economic Consequences of the Peace is Keynes' brilliant and prophetic analysis of the effects that the peace treaty would have both on Germany and, even more fatefully, the world.

Papers presented at a winter 1997 conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought reconsider the nature and significance of Keynes' theories and economic policies, and illustrate the diversity of Keynesianism in different European countries throughout the century. Main themes are Keynesian theory, Keynesian- type policies and theories throughout Europe, and how Keynesian policy has been used by government and non-governmental organizations in an attempt to deal with unemployment and deflation during the 20th century. Pasinetti is a professor of economics at Catholic University, Milan, Italy. Schefold is a professor of economics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

John Maynard Keynes is the great British economist of the twentieth century whose hugely influential work The General Theory of Employment, Interest and * is undoubtedly the century's most important book on economics--strongly influencing economic theory and practice, particularly with regard to the role of government in stimulating and regulating a nation's economic life. Keynes's work has undergone significant revaluation in recent years, and "Keynesian" views which have been widely defended for so long are now perceived as at odds with Keynes's own thinking. Recent scholarship and research has demonstrated considerable rivalry and controversy concerning the proper interpretation of Keynes's works, such that recourse to the original text is all the more important. Although considered by a few critics that the sentence structures of the book are quite incomprehensible and almost unbearable to read, the book is an essential reading for all those who desire a basic education in economics. The key to understanding Keynes is the notion that at particular times in the business cycle, an economy can become over-productive (or under-consumptive) and thus, a vicious spiral is begun that results in massive layoffs and cuts in production as businesses attempt to equilibrate aggregate supply and demand. Thus, full employment is only one of many or multiple macro equilibria. If an economy reaches an underemployment equilibrium, something is necessary to boost or stimulate demand to produce full employment. This something could be business investment but because of the logic and individualist nature of investment decisions, it is unlikely to rapidly restore full employment. Keynes logically seizes upon the public budget and government expenditures as the quickest way to restore full employment. Borrowing the * to finance the deficit from private households and businesses is a quick, direct way to restore full employment while at the same time, redirecting or siphoning

John Maynard Keynes, then a rising young economist, participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as chief representative of the British Treasury and advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He resigned after desperately trying and failing to reduce the huge demands for reparations being made on Germany. The Economic Consequences of the Peace is Keynes' brilliant and prophetic analysis of the effects that the peace treaty would have both on Germany and, even more fatefully, the world.

Acclaim for the first edition: ÔThis easy-to-read collection . . . tells the whole story. Filled with short, well-written pieces, the encyclopedia covers the names and ideas that preceded Keynes, that carried his work to the center of the profession, and that eventually supplanted him there . . . There are excellent and unexpected articles on the Austrian school, the Lausanne school, and the Ricardo effect. There are well-done pieces on all the basic theoretical models at the heart of Keynesianism . . . [the] volume has been well put together. The editors deserve special praise for letting each contributor tell his own story. Those who oppose KeynesÕs ideas are just as well represented as those who carry the torch for him. This evenhandedness helps to ensure a volume that is truly representative and that will allow its users to get a full picture of the life and times of Keynesian economics.Õ Ð Bradley W. Bateman, Grinnell College, US ÔThe book will also be of some interest to serious scholars, partly because it includes biographies of many economists too young to have been included in the New Palgrave, such as Dornbusch, Fisher, Herschel Grossman, Kregel, Lucas, and Robert Townsend. It also includes some very interesting longer essays.Õ Ð Peter Howitt, The Economic Journal ÔThis book provides an excellent summary of the many strands of ÔKeynesianÕ- style thought both before and after 1936. Its well-considered entries take care to make explicit the assumptions and fundamental points of difference between theories too often concealed by the parents and advocates of specific theories in their zeal to promote the universality of the ideas. There is scarcely an entry that suffers from wordiness and repetition; the readerÕs scarce time is not abused.Õ Ð Elizabeth Webster, Economic Record ÔThis reviewer found using this source exhilarating and endowed with additional interest in view of the 1997 discussion on the inclusion or noninclusion of Keynesian economics in introductory economics textbooks. The editors should be applauded for helping to preserve a part of intellectual heritage.Õ Ð Bogdan Mieczkowski, American Reference Books ÔIt is the best single reference source on Keynesian economics and will be welcomed by students and teachers in economics as well as scholars in related social sciences and government policy makers.Õ Ð Educational Book Review This thoroughly revised and updated second edition of a highly acclaimed and authoritative reference work introduces the major concepts in the field of Keynesian economics. The comprehensive Encyclopedia features accessible, informative and provocative contributions by leading international scholars working in the tradition of Keynes. It brings together widely dispersed yet theoretically congruent ideas, presents concise biographies of economists who have contributed to the debate on Keynes and the Keynesian Revolution, and outlines the basic principles, models and tools used to discuss the economic consequences of The General Theory. Longer entries on specific topics associated with Keynes and the Keynesian Revolution analyse the principal factors that contributed to The General Theory, the economics of Keynes and the rise and apparent decline of Keynesian economics in greater detail. The second edition will ensure that An Encyclopedia of Keynesian Economics will remain the best single reference source on Keynesian economics and will continue to be welcomed by academics, students and teachers of economics as well as by scholars in related social sciences and government policymakers.

This book considers the cultural legacy of the Keynesian Revolution in economics. It assesses the impact of Keynes and Keynesian thinking upon economics and policy, as well as the response of the Chicago and Austrian schools, and the legacy of all three in shaping economic life. The book is a call to restore economics to its roots in moral and cultural knowledge, reminding us that human beings are more than consumers. The Keynesian Revolution taught us that we should be happy if we are prosperous, but instead we feel hollow and morally anxious – our economy feels empty. Drawing on paradigms from earlier historical periods while affirming modern market systems, this book encourages a return to a view of human beings as persons with the right and responsibility to discover, and do, the things in life that are intrinsically good and enduring. Because in the long run, the legacy of our choices will continue long after “we’re all dead.”

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) was a British economist whose theories had a profound impact on twentieth century history and economic practice. Born and raised in Cambridge, England to highly successful, intelligent parents John and Florence Keynes, he attended Eton and King's College, Cambridge where he joined the intellectual group called "The Apostles" with the likes of Leonard and Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster and Bertrand Russell. After attending the Paris Peace Conference as economic advisor to Prime Minister Lloyd George, Keynes resigned from a prominent position in the Treasury and published "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" (1919), a stinging indictment of the Versailles Treaty. Keynes expressed his opposition to the political practices that were taking place, and the work gained him instant notoriety. The impact of this, and other, works on economic method, theory and policy led to what is now termed the "Keynesian Revolution" of the twentieth century, and helped shape modern macroeconomics.