IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wiw/wus005/1278.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Is the NAIRU theory a Monetarist, New Keynesian, Post Keynesian or a Marxist theory?

Author

Listed:
  • Stockhammer, Engelbert

Abstract

The NAIRU theory has become the mainstream theory in explaining unemployment in Europe and is often used to justify demands for a cutback of the welfare state, reducing unemployment benefits, reducing minimum wages, decentralizing collective bargaining etc. Close inspection reveals that it nonetheless shares some arguments with Post Keynesian and even Marxist theory. The paper proposes an underdetermined, encompassing NAIRU model, which is consistent with several theoretical tradtions. Depending on the closure with respect to demand formation and determination of the NAIRU itself, the model allows for New Keynesian, Post Keynesian and Marxist results. (author's abstract)

Suggested Citation

  • Stockhammer, Engelbert, 2006. "Is the NAIRU theory a Monetarist, New Keynesian, Post Keynesian or a Marxist theory?," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 96, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
  • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wus005:1278
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://epub.wu.ac.at/1278/
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Riccardo Bellofiore, 2005. "The Monetary Aspects of the Capitalist Process in the Marxian System: An Investigation from the Point of View of the Theory of the Monetary Circuit," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Fred Moseley (ed.), Marx’s Theory of Money, chapter 8, pages 124-139, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Brian Snowdon & Howard R. Vane & Peter Wynarczyk, 1994. "A Modern Guide To Macroeconomics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 450.
    3. Robert J. Gordon, 1997. "The Time-Varying NAIRU and Its Implications for Economic Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 11-32, Winter.
    4. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages 1-33, March.
    5. Layard, Richard & Nickell, Stephen & Jackman, Richard, 2005. "Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199279173.
    6. Paul Davidson, 2007. "Setting the Record Straight on “a History of Post Keynesian Economics”," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Interpreting Keynes for the 21st Century, chapter 19, pages 227-253, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Laurence Ball & N. Gregory Mankiw, 2002. "The NAIRU in Theory and Practice," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 115-136, Fall.
    8. Makoto Itoh & Costas Lapavitsas, 1999. "Political Economy of Money and Finance," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37578-9, December.
    9. Olivier Blanchard & Lawrence F. Katz, 1997. "What We Know and Do Not Know about the Natural Rate of Unemployment," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 51-72, Winter.
    10. Stephen Nickell, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer.
    11. Constantinos Alexiou & Christos Pitelis, 2003. "On capital shortages and European unemployment: a panel data investigation," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 613-640.
    12. Laurence Ball, 1999. "Aggregate demand and Long-Run Unemployment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 30(2), pages 189-252.
    13. Bhaduri, Amit & Marglin, Stephen, 1990. "Unemployment and the Real Wage: The Economic Basis for Contesting Political Ideologies," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(4), pages 375-393, December.
    14. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 1997. "The NAIRU, Unemployment and Monetary Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 33-49, Winter.
    15. Epstein,Gerald A. & Gintis,Herbert M., 2011. "Macroeconomic Policy after the Conservative Era," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521148412.
    16. Davidson, Paul, 1998. "Post Keynesian Employment Analysis and the Macroeconomics of OECD Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(448), pages 817-831, May.
    17. Philip Arestis & Malcolm Sawyer, 2005. "Aggregate demand, conflict and capacity in the inflationary process," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(6), pages 959-974, November.
    18. Mario Cassetti, 2003. "Bargaining power, effective demand and technical progress: a Kaleckian model of growth," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 27(3), pages 449-464, May.
    19. Asada, Toichiro & Chen, Pu & Chiarella, Carl & Flaschel, Peter, 2006. "Keynesian dynamics and the wage-price spiral: A baseline disequilibrium model," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 90-130, March.
    20. Skott, Peter, 2005. "Fairness as a source of hysteresis in employment and relative wages," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 305-331, July.
    21. Alfonso Palacio-Vera, 2005. "The ‘modern’ view of macroeconomics: some critical reflections," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(5), pages 747-767, September.
    22. Eckhard Hein & Lena Vogel, 2007. "Distribution and growth reconsidered - empirical results for Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA," IMK Working Paper 03-2007, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    23. Michael Ehrmann & Leonardo Gambacorta & Jorge Martinez-PagÈs & Patrick Sevestre & Andreas Worms, 2003. "The Effects of Monetary Policy in the Euro Area," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 19(1), pages 58-72.
    24. Madsen, Jakob B, 1998. "General Equilibrium Macroeconomic Models of Unemployment: Can They Explain the Unemployment Path in the OECD?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(448), pages 850-867, May.
    25. Philip Arestis & Malcolm Sawyer, 2002. "'New Consensus,' New Keynesianism, and the Economics of the 'Third Way'," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_364, Levy Economics Institute.
    26. Stockhammer, Engelbert & Onaran, Ozlem, 2004. "Accumulation, distribution and employment: a structural VAR approach to a Kaleckian macro model," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 421-447, December.
    27. Malcolm Sawyer, 2002. "The NAIRU, Aggregate Demand and Investment," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 66-94, February.
    28. Marc Lavoie, 1992. "Foundations of Post-Keynesian Economic Analysis," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 275.
    29. Engelbert Stockhammer & Özlem Onaran & Stefan Ederer, 2009. "Functional income distribution and aggregate demand in the Euro area," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(1), pages 139-159, January.
    30. George A. Akerlof & William T. Dickens & George L. Perry, 2000. "Near-Rational Wage and Price Setting and the Long-Run Phillips Curve," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 31(1), pages 1-60.
    31. Carlin, Wendy & Soskice, David, 1990. "Macroeconomics and the Wage Bargain: A Modern Approach to Employment, Inflation, and the Exchange Rate," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198772446.
    32. Thomas I. Palley, 1996. "Post Keynesian Economics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37412-6, December.
    33. Blecker, Robert A, 1989. "International Competition, Income Distribution and Economic Growth," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 13(3), pages 395-412, September.
    34. Blanchard, Olivier Jean & Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Beyond the Natural Rate Hypothesis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 182-187, May.
    35. Dean Baker & Andrew Glyn & David Howell & John Schmitt, 2002. "Labor Market Institutions and Unemployment: A Critical Assessment of the Cross-Country Evidence," SCEPA working paper series. 2002-17, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    36. Louis-Philippe Rochon, 1999. "Credit, Money and Production," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1565.
    37. Rowthorn, Robert, 1999. "Unemployment, Wage Bargaining and Capital-Labour Substitution," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(4), pages 413-425, July.
    38. Horst Siebert, 1997. "Labor Market Rigidities: At the Root of Unemployment in Europe," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 37-54, Summer.
    39. Franke, Reiner & Flaschel, Peter & Proano, Christian R., 2006. "Wage-price dynamics and income distribution in a semi-structural Keynes-Goodwin model," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 452-465, December.
    40. David H. Romer, 2000. "Keynesian Macroeconomics without the LM Curve," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 149-169, Spring.
    41. Sarantis, Nicholas, 1993. "Distribution, Aggregate Demand and Unemployment in OECD Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(417), pages 459-467, March.
    42. Rowthorn, Robert, 1995. "Capital Formation and Unemployment," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 26-39, Spring.
    43. Nickell, Stephen, 1998. "Unemployment: Questions and Some Answers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(448), pages 802-816, May.
    44. J. E. King, 2002. "A History of Post Keynesian Economics since 1936," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2135.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eckhard Hein & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2010. "Macroeconomic Policy Mix, Employment and Inflation in a Post-Keynesian Alternative to the New Consensus Model," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 317-354.
    2. Vasiliki Bozani, 2011. "NAIRU, Unemployment and Post Keynesian Economics," Working Papers 1104, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    3. Eckhard Hein & Achim Truger, 2005. "What ever happened to Germany? Is the decline of the former european key currency country caused by structural sclerosis or by macroeconomic mismanagement?," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 3-28.
    4. Engelbert Stockhammer & Erik Klär, 2011. "Capital accumulation, labour market institutions and unemployment in the medium run," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 35(2), pages 437-457.
    5. Bozani, Vasiliki & Drydakis, Nick, 2011. "Studying the NAIRU and its Implications," IZA Discussion Papers 6079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Hein, Eckhard, 2003. "Die NAIRU: Eine post-keynesianische Interpretation," WSI Working Papers 113, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    7. Engelbert Stockhammer & Simon Sturn, 2012. "The impact of monetary policy on unemployment hysteresis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(21), pages 2743-2756, July.
    8. Engelbert Stockhammer & Alexander Guschanski & Karsten Köhler, 2014. "Unemployment, capital accumulation and labour market institutions in the Great Recession," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 11(2), pages 182-194, September.
    9. Beissinger, Thomas, 2003. "Strukturelle Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa : eine Bestandsaufnahme (Structural unemployment in Europe * an inventory)," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(4), pages 411-427.
    10. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Dennis J. Snower, 2010. "Phillips Curves And Unemployment Dynamics: A Critique And A Holistic Perspective," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 1-51, February.
    11. Albert van der Horst, 2003. "Structural estimates of equilibrium unemployment in six OECD economies," CPB Discussion Paper 19, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    12. Antonio Rodriguez-Gil, 2018. "Hysteresis and labour market institutions. Evidence from the UK and the Netherlands," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1985-2025, December.
    13. Eckhard Hein & Achim Truger, 2005. "Macroeconomic policies, wage developments, and Germany’s stagnation," Macroeconomics 0508015, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Albert van der Horst, 2003. "Structural estimates of equilibrium unemployment in six OECD economies," CPB Discussion Paper 19.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Eckhard Hein, 2017. "Post-Keynesian macroeconomics since the mid 1990s: main developments," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 131-172, September.
    16. Michelle C. Baddeley, 2008. "Structural Shifts In Uk Unemployment 1979–2005: The Twin Impacts Of Financial Deregulation And Computerization," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 123-157, April.
    17. Engelbert Stockhammer, 2011. "Wage norms, capital accumulation, and unemployment: a post-Keynesian view," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 27(2), pages 295-311.
    18. Beissinger, Thomas, 2003. "Strukturelle Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa : eine Bestandsaufnahme (Structural unemployment in Europe * an inventory)," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(4), pages 411-427.
    19. Eckhard Hein & Achim Truger, 2007. "Germany’s Post-2000 Stagnation in the European Context — a Lesson in Macroeconomic Mismanagement," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Philip Arestis & Eckhard Hein & Edwin Heron (ed.), Aspects of Modern Monetary and Macroeconomic Policies, chapter 12, pages 223-247, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Eckhard Hein, 2010. "Shareholder Value Orientation, Distribution And Growth—Short‐ And Medium‐Run Effects In A Kaleckian Model," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 302-332, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    NAIRU; unemployment; New Keynesian Economics; Post Keynesian Economics; Marxian Economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wiw:wus005:1278. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: WU Library (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://research.wu.ac.at/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.