Axel Leijonhufvud was one of the most creative and perspicacious macroeconomists of the last century. He became famous early in his life for his contention that the Keynesian Economics being taught and understood at that time was a serious misinterpretation of Keynes’s ideas. Instead of the emphasis on inflexible wages and prices as being central, Keynes, he argued, was focused on the failure of intertemporal coordination. Taking that challenge into consideration required a different way of looking at the economy and theorizing disequilibrium. As a committed supporter of the history of economic thought, he was singularly aware of the problems of taking a wrong path intellectually—a mistake that could lead to years of misguided work. And indeed, that wrong turn, away from the fertile ground of disequilibrium macroeconomics did occur, as the profession moved away from it to what he may have seen as an academic and theoretical dead end. His latter career was devoted to finding more meaningful and generative foundations for dealing with the deeper issues of macroeconomic and monetary stability. In the last decade of his life he was a founding member of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and a key part of its academic council.
In this animation, taken from his speech at INET Berlin in 2012, he describes the process by which macroeconomic instability is generated. We invite you to see it and to explore the many other contributions of this true intellectual giant.
For those interested in engaging more deeply with his work, we have created a collection of video, transcripts, and all of the articles that he has written. Many of these remain fruitful for students and scholars exploring how to move forward in economics. Reading Axel’s work has provided, for us, a thunderclap of clarity on several issues. We hope that the same is true for you as you engage with the mind and work of this true, great, original master of economics.
Publications
Review of David McCord Wright’s Growth And The Economy, American Economic Review [1954]
Keynes And The Keynesians: A Suggested Interpretation, American Economic Review [1967]
Compendium on Monetary Policy Guidelines and Federal Reserve Structure [1968]
Keynes And The Classics, Institute For Economic Affairs [1969]
Review of John Helliwell’s Public Policies And Private Investment, Journal Of Business [1970]
Review of Donald Winch’s Economics and Policy [1971]
Effective Demand Failures, Swedish Economic Journal [1973]
Life Among The Econ, Western Economic Journal [1973]
The Backbending Supply Curve of Labor Comment on Buchanan [1973]
Keynes Employment Function Comment, History of Political Economy [1974]
The Coordination of Economic Activities a Keynesian Perspective, American Economic Review [1975]
Expectations: Policy Makers Predicament, Expectations And The Economy [1981]
Review of Robert Lucus’ Studies In Business Cycle Theory, Journal Of Economic Literature [1983]
What Was The Matter With Is Lm, Modern Macroeconomic Theory [1983]
What Would Keynes Have Thought Of Rational Expectations, Keynes And The Modern World [1983]
Hicks On Time And Money, Oxford Economic Papers [1984]
Statement On Monetary Policy, Monetary Reform And Economic Stability [1984]
Time In Theory And History: Or Why I Am Not A Historian, Agricultural History [1986]
Real And Monetary Factors In Business Fluctuations Cato Journal [1986]
Economics In America: The Continental Influence, History Of Political Economy [1987]
Rational Expectations And Monetary Institiutions, Monetary Theory And Econommic Institutions [1987]
Whatever Happened To Keynesian Economics? The Legacy Of Keynes [1987]
Did Keynes Mean Anything? Rejoinder To Yeager, Cato Journal [1988]
High Inflations And Contemporary Monetary Theory, Economic Notes [1991]
Towards A Not Too Rational Macroeconomics, Southern Economics Journal [1993]
The Nature Of The Depression In The Former Soviet Union, New Left Review [1993]
High Inflations And The Financial System, Estudios Economicos [1994]
The Individual The Market And The Industrial Division Of Labor, Lindivido E Il Mercato [1995]
Adaptive Behavior Market Processes And The Computable Approach, Revue Economique [1995]
Russian Dilemmas, American Economic Review [1997]
Macroeconomics and Complexity: Inflation Theory, The Economy as an Evolving Complex System II [1997]
The Wicksellian Heritage, Wicksell’s Geldzins und Gúterpreise [1997]
Three Items For The Macroeconomic Agenda, Kyklos [1998]
Mr. Keynes And The Moderns European, Journal Of History Of Economic Thought [1998]
Two Types Of Crises, Zagreb Journal Of Economics [1998]
Un Aporte Para La Comprension De Las Crisis Financieras Revista De Economia [1999]
