A Teoria Geral do Emprego, dos Juros e da Moeda segundo Brian Reddaway

Heller, Claudia (2002): A Teoria Geral do Emprego, dos Juros e da Moeda segundo Brian Reddaway. Published in: A Economia em Revista , Vol. 10, (2002): pp. 15-32.

Abstract

The present paper is part of a not yet concluded research. It explores the hypothesis that the mathematical formalizations of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (Keynes, 1936) developed by Roy Harrod, John Hicks, David Champernowne, Brian Reddaway and James Meade represent different reasonings and theoretical arguments despite having similar structures. Acceptance and success of the mathematical version of the General Theory (the ISLM model) may be due to the fact that it allows the implicit absorption of the many varied causality relations defined by these authors. The paper is a complementary study to other essays on the mathematical (sometimes also graphical) representation put forward by Harrod, Hicks, Meade, Reddaway and Champernowne. It may be considered as a necessary (thought still insufficient) step towards the understanding of the reasons of the success of the neoclassical synthesis. It is important to stress that this paper does take into account the (in)correctness of Reddaway's interpretation of the General Theory, but it emphasizes the contrasting nature between the richness of his theoretical arguments and the limited character of his mathematical system of simultaneous equations. It is argued that although Reddaway tried to demonstrate the mutual interdependence between the variables of his system, he was fully aware of the limitations of any mathematical notation and of the danger of circular reasoning. The theoretical arguments developed by Reddaway will be compared, in a future concluding paper, to those developed by the other contributors to the ISLM model. It is hoped that this comparison will lead to a better understanding of why the mathematical and graphical interpretation of the General Theory has been so successful.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: UNESP
• Language: Portuguese
• Subjects: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B2 - History of Economic Thought since 1925 > B22 - Macroeconomics; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B2 - History of Economic Thought since 1925

References

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