Investment, Saving and Stagnation from a Keynesian Perspective

Abstract

AbstractIt can also be shown from a Keynesian perspective that planned investment and saving are diverging in the twenty-first century and that there is a risk of sustained (secular) underemployment unless appropriate countermeasures are taken by the state. In this chapter, we look at the arguments that Keynesian authors have used, in both older and more recent writings, to demonstrate the possibility of secular stagnation and at the possibilities they considered for overcoming tendencies toward stagnation. We make clear that, despite general differences in the theoretical framework and some differences in detail, there are a number of parallels between the Keynesian view and the new capital-theoretical conception presented in this book. This applies both for the causes of the structural divergence between planned private saving and private investment and for its consequences.