Michel De Vroey | UCLouvain (University of Louvain) (original) (raw)
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Papers by Michel De Vroey
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Feb 1, 2005
Recherches économiques de Louvain
Cambridge University Press, 2016
Research Papers in Economics, 2012
The aim of this paper is to recount the ebbs and flows of Keynesianism over the history of macroe... more The aim of this paper is to recount the ebbs and flows of Keynesianism over the history of macroeconomics. The bulk of the paper consists of a discussion of the main episodes of the unfolding of macroeconomics ( Keynesian macroeconomics, monetarism, new classical macroeconomics, real business cycle models and new neoclassical synthesis models) against the background of a distinction between Keynesianism as a ‘moderately conservative’ (Keynes’s words) vision about the working of the market system and Keyneisanism as a conceptual apparatus. Particular attention is given to the contrast between Keynesian and Lucasian macroeconomics. The paper ends with a few remarks about the impact of the present crisis on the development of macroeconomic theory.
Peter Diamond, Monika Merz, and David Andolfatto must all three be credited for having integrated... more Peter Diamond, Monika Merz, and David Andolfatto must all three be credited for having integrated a search perspective in macroeconomic theory. In a previous paper, “The Integration of Search in Macroeconomics: Two Alternative Paths”, we set ourselves the task of analyzing and comparing their respective contributions. To support our study, we conducted interviews with them. The present paper is an edited transcript of these three interviews.
Repenser le travail et ses régulations, 2011
Cet article est écrit en écho aux contributions de Christophe Lavialle et d’Alain Béraud au collo... more Cet article est écrit en écho aux contributions de Christophe Lavialle et d’Alain Béraud au colloque de l’ association Charles Gide pour l’histoire de la pensée économique ayant eu lieu à Orléans en mai 2008. Tous deux traitent du chômage involontaire mais défendent des thèses opposées. Lavialle estime que cette notion désigne une réalité centrale et qu’il ne peut être question de l’abandonner. Cependant, affirme-t-il, sa sauvegarde implique que l’on adopte une posture hétérodoxe. Quant à Bér..
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
It has often been argued that Keynes’s General Theory is full of inconsistencies yet their nature... more It has often been argued that Keynes’s General Theory is full of inconsistencies yet their nature has scarcely been explored in detail. In this paper, I argue that Keynes’s basic inconsistency lies in his aiming at bringing together a series of concepts which, with hindsight, prove to be irreconciliable, namely involuntary unemployment, system failure, general equilibrium, demand policy. This indictment of Keynes’s research programme should not be extended, I further argue, to mainstream Keynesian research programmes, because they have abandonned the claim of demonstrating all these concepts together. The overall evolution of Keynesian theory can then be highlighted as a replacement of Keynes’s unique yet contradictory research programme by a handful of (a) more or less overlapping, (b) in principle consistent, (c) yet incomplete research programs against Keynes’s own project.
The objective of the present study is to reflect upon the evolution of Keynesian theory from a sp... more The objective of the present study is to reflect upon the evolution of Keynesian theory from a specific angle of attack, by recounting the evolution of ideas regarding the theoretical acceptability of one particular yet central concept, namely involuntary unemployment. The first part presents my own reconstruction of the theoretical project Keynes set himself forth in his General Theory . In the second part, I look at the fundamental difficulty encountered with this project. In the third part I develop the thesis, which some will find provocative, that, despite appearances, the involuntary unemployment result is obtained neither in the General Theory, nor in the standard IS-LM models. The fourth part is devoted to a discussion of Patinkin and Clower’s interpretation of involuntary unemployment as well as Barro and Grossman’s synthesis of their views. In the fifth part, I evaluate the anti-Keynesian offensive spearheaded by Friedman and Lucas. In the sixth part, I look at the signifi...
L’article s’interroge sur l’aspect de Marx à la théorie économique. La thèse défendue est que si ... more L’article s’interroge sur l’aspect de Marx à la théorie économique. La thèse défendue est que si Marx doit être compté parmi les grands économistes classiques, ses vues ne constituent pas une théorie originale. Il est aussi avancé que les malentendus interprétatifs que sa pensée a suscité peuvent s’éclairer à l’aide de la distinction entre théorie et méta-théorie.
This article examines the question of which institutional assumptions underly competitive general... more This article examines the question of which institutional assumptions underly competitive general equilibrium theory. Extending Walra’s terminology, the organization of trade hypothesis typical of this theory is called tâtonnement. Its components and its working principles are analysed comprehensively. The pervasive view, that tâtonnement is a stylised figure of market forces, is criticized on the grounds (1) that a tâtonnement economy is a hybrid between a decentralized and a command economy and (2) that a tâtonnement economy is the epitome of social constructivism, as its creation can be likened to a Hobbesian social contract. Finally, three possible arguments in favor of tâtonnement are considered, the "realistic", the "benign neglect" and the "lack of alternative" argument. Only the last one is considered as a worthy defence of it.
History of Political Economy, 2007
The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2002
ABSTRACT In this paper I evaluate the logical consistency of Patinkin's claim that involu... more ABSTRACT In this paper I evaluate the logical consistency of Patinkin's claim that involuntary unemployment can result from slow speed of adjustment. I argue that Patinkin's argument is flawed because of an unjustified breach of continuity in the trade technology assumption between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic parts of Money, Interest, and Prices. Finally, I claim that the issue of flexibility versus rigidity should be linked to the trade technology assumption. As soon as a centralized trade technology is assumed, flexibility automatically comes in.
PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft, 1988
Cartelier und de Vroey prüfen, was die Arbeiten der Regulationsschule zur ökonomischen Theorie be... more Cartelier und de Vroey prüfen, was die Arbeiten der Regulationsschule zur ökonomischen Theorie beitragen. Sie kommen zu dem Ergebnis, daß dieser Ansatz in seinem gegenwärtigen Zustand nicht beanspruchen kann, eine Alternative zur herrschenden Theorie darzustellen. Die Regulationsschule versucht nicht, auf die fundamentalen Fragen der politischen Ökonomie zu antworten, deren Aufnahme für Cartelier/de Vroey eine unerläßliche Voraussetzung für die Etablierung eines neuen Paradigmas darstellt. Bezogen auf das Niveau von Theorien mittlerer Reichweite vertreten Cartelier/de Vroey insbesondere bezüglich des Fordismus- Konzepts die Auffassung, daß der Begr(ff, obgleich interessant und originell, ohne weiteres in die traditionelle ökonomische Theorie integrierbar wäre.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Feb 1, 2005
Recherches économiques de Louvain
Cambridge University Press, 2016
Research Papers in Economics, 2012
The aim of this paper is to recount the ebbs and flows of Keynesianism over the history of macroe... more The aim of this paper is to recount the ebbs and flows of Keynesianism over the history of macroeconomics. The bulk of the paper consists of a discussion of the main episodes of the unfolding of macroeconomics ( Keynesian macroeconomics, monetarism, new classical macroeconomics, real business cycle models and new neoclassical synthesis models) against the background of a distinction between Keynesianism as a ‘moderately conservative’ (Keynes’s words) vision about the working of the market system and Keyneisanism as a conceptual apparatus. Particular attention is given to the contrast between Keynesian and Lucasian macroeconomics. The paper ends with a few remarks about the impact of the present crisis on the development of macroeconomic theory.
Peter Diamond, Monika Merz, and David Andolfatto must all three be credited for having integrated... more Peter Diamond, Monika Merz, and David Andolfatto must all three be credited for having integrated a search perspective in macroeconomic theory. In a previous paper, “The Integration of Search in Macroeconomics: Two Alternative Paths”, we set ourselves the task of analyzing and comparing their respective contributions. To support our study, we conducted interviews with them. The present paper is an edited transcript of these three interviews.
Repenser le travail et ses régulations, 2011
Cet article est écrit en écho aux contributions de Christophe Lavialle et d’Alain Béraud au collo... more Cet article est écrit en écho aux contributions de Christophe Lavialle et d’Alain Béraud au colloque de l’ association Charles Gide pour l’histoire de la pensée économique ayant eu lieu à Orléans en mai 2008. Tous deux traitent du chômage involontaire mais défendent des thèses opposées. Lavialle estime que cette notion désigne une réalité centrale et qu’il ne peut être question de l’abandonner. Cependant, affirme-t-il, sa sauvegarde implique que l’on adopte une posture hétérodoxe. Quant à Bér..
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
A History of Macroeconomics from Keynes to Lucas and Beyond
It has often been argued that Keynes’s General Theory is full of inconsistencies yet their nature... more It has often been argued that Keynes’s General Theory is full of inconsistencies yet their nature has scarcely been explored in detail. In this paper, I argue that Keynes’s basic inconsistency lies in his aiming at bringing together a series of concepts which, with hindsight, prove to be irreconciliable, namely involuntary unemployment, system failure, general equilibrium, demand policy. This indictment of Keynes’s research programme should not be extended, I further argue, to mainstream Keynesian research programmes, because they have abandonned the claim of demonstrating all these concepts together. The overall evolution of Keynesian theory can then be highlighted as a replacement of Keynes’s unique yet contradictory research programme by a handful of (a) more or less overlapping, (b) in principle consistent, (c) yet incomplete research programs against Keynes’s own project.
The objective of the present study is to reflect upon the evolution of Keynesian theory from a sp... more The objective of the present study is to reflect upon the evolution of Keynesian theory from a specific angle of attack, by recounting the evolution of ideas regarding the theoretical acceptability of one particular yet central concept, namely involuntary unemployment. The first part presents my own reconstruction of the theoretical project Keynes set himself forth in his General Theory . In the second part, I look at the fundamental difficulty encountered with this project. In the third part I develop the thesis, which some will find provocative, that, despite appearances, the involuntary unemployment result is obtained neither in the General Theory, nor in the standard IS-LM models. The fourth part is devoted to a discussion of Patinkin and Clower’s interpretation of involuntary unemployment as well as Barro and Grossman’s synthesis of their views. In the fifth part, I evaluate the anti-Keynesian offensive spearheaded by Friedman and Lucas. In the sixth part, I look at the signifi...
L’article s’interroge sur l’aspect de Marx à la théorie économique. La thèse défendue est que si ... more L’article s’interroge sur l’aspect de Marx à la théorie économique. La thèse défendue est que si Marx doit être compté parmi les grands économistes classiques, ses vues ne constituent pas une théorie originale. Il est aussi avancé que les malentendus interprétatifs que sa pensée a suscité peuvent s’éclairer à l’aide de la distinction entre théorie et méta-théorie.
This article examines the question of which institutional assumptions underly competitive general... more This article examines the question of which institutional assumptions underly competitive general equilibrium theory. Extending Walra’s terminology, the organization of trade hypothesis typical of this theory is called tâtonnement. Its components and its working principles are analysed comprehensively. The pervasive view, that tâtonnement is a stylised figure of market forces, is criticized on the grounds (1) that a tâtonnement economy is a hybrid between a decentralized and a command economy and (2) that a tâtonnement economy is the epitome of social constructivism, as its creation can be likened to a Hobbesian social contract. Finally, three possible arguments in favor of tâtonnement are considered, the "realistic", the "benign neglect" and the "lack of alternative" argument. Only the last one is considered as a worthy defence of it.
History of Political Economy, 2007
The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2002
ABSTRACT In this paper I evaluate the logical consistency of Patinkin's claim that involu... more ABSTRACT In this paper I evaluate the logical consistency of Patinkin's claim that involuntary unemployment can result from slow speed of adjustment. I argue that Patinkin's argument is flawed because of an unjustified breach of continuity in the trade technology assumption between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic parts of Money, Interest, and Prices. Finally, I claim that the issue of flexibility versus rigidity should be linked to the trade technology assumption. As soon as a centralized trade technology is assumed, flexibility automatically comes in.
PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft, 1988
Cartelier und de Vroey prüfen, was die Arbeiten der Regulationsschule zur ökonomischen Theorie be... more Cartelier und de Vroey prüfen, was die Arbeiten der Regulationsschule zur ökonomischen Theorie beitragen. Sie kommen zu dem Ergebnis, daß dieser Ansatz in seinem gegenwärtigen Zustand nicht beanspruchen kann, eine Alternative zur herrschenden Theorie darzustellen. Die Regulationsschule versucht nicht, auf die fundamentalen Fragen der politischen Ökonomie zu antworten, deren Aufnahme für Cartelier/de Vroey eine unerläßliche Voraussetzung für die Etablierung eines neuen Paradigmas darstellt. Bezogen auf das Niveau von Theorien mittlerer Reichweite vertreten Cartelier/de Vroey insbesondere bezüglich des Fordismus- Konzepts die Auffassung, daß der Begr(ff, obgleich interessant und originell, ohne weiteres in die traditionelle ökonomische Theorie integrierbar wäre.