This thesis examines the extent to which institutional transparency is counterproductive and potentially politicizing within the U.S. Federal Reserve system. It exemplifies a Venn diagram intersection of political and economic theory – and given the meaningful change in behavior at the Fed – to some extent organizational theory as well. This political economy orientation may be illustrated by providing a historical context – and then addressing the relevant catalysts for change: legislative action, financial crises, and the increase in social media technology. In terms of a “broader view,” these changes have occurred against a backdrop of significant changes in the application of Keynesian theories. As a result, this thesis defines modern transparency at the Federal Reserve, including its benefits and potential drawbacks, by connecting the changes in policies and procedures over the last quarter century - and by showing the impact of the evolution of modern New Keynesian interventionist programs within this new environment. The conclusions shown the New Keynesian coincidental contributions to modern interventionalist policies. But the benefits that come from improved transparency have opened the door to unintended consequences – and the main takeaway is the potential for political bias among bankers and the time inconsistencies that come from short-term modifications to otherwise long-term problems. The “secrets of the temple” are no longer secrets…but Greider would agree that the concentration of power and political influence remains the same. / M.A. / This thesis explores to what extent is increased transparency counterproductive and potentially politicizing within the U.S. Federal Reserve system. The Fed is primarily responsible for maintaining price stability, facilitating full employment, and maintaining the health of the banking system, placing it both directly and indirectly at the center of power and influence within American politics. FOMC decisions directly affect American citizens. For instance, their interest rate policies influence the cost of a mortgage, a car loan, a student loan, or possibly the value of 401k accounts – and in the 21st century, the average American is more tied to “credit” than ever before. This analysis will consider how this initiative developed, its original intent, its evolution, and why it may result in significant unintended political consequences. The conclusions illustrated that there are benefits that come from improved transparency. However, improved transparency may have opened the door to unintended consequences.

The topic of fiscal policy has been long neglected in terms of fiscal policy's interdependence with other main macroeconomic variables. Presented thesis therefore analyses the validity of different fiscal policy models for the case of Czech Republic. Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework is used throughout the thesis. Different fiscal policy rules are put into otherwise identical - benchmark - model and the models are compared to each other and to the benchmark model. The analysed fiscal policy models are an acyclical, counter- cyclical, two pro-cyclical and dichotomous spending models. We find that the most plausible fiscal policy rule is of pro-cyclical type and closely follows the model of Alesina et al. (2008). The model assumes that interest groups can steal part of government income through corruption and voters cannot observe it, so they demand maximum fiscal spending in the good times. The logic of this model is in accordance with the current state of fiscal and economic behaviour in Czech Republic.

Le but de cette thèse est d’analyser les effets de court terme de la répartitionfonctionnelle des revenus sur la demande agrégée et ses composants en Corée du Sud,Thaïlande et la Chine dans un cadre postkeynésien. Dans ce but un modèle est proposé etses paramètres sont estimés pour caractériser les régimes de croissance de demande dansces pays. L’analyse économétrique montre que les demandes domestiques de ces payssont tirées par les salaires, sauf Thaïlande dans lequel certaines mesures de la répartitiondes revenus indiquent que l’économie domestique est tirée par les profits, pendant que leséconomies ouvertes sont tirées par les profits. Les résultats décrivent que des politiquesde croissance pro-travaillistes ne sont pas viables au court terme dans ces pays. Cettethèse comprend une revue de la littérature sur les théories de répartition des revenus et decroissance, présente une revue de la littérature sur les travaux empiriques de modèlespostkeynésiennes de croissance et répartition, expose un modèle théorique, elle comprendégalement une analyse du régime de croissance de demande en Corée du Sud, Thaïlandeet la Chine, respectivement. Dernièrement, la thèse discute les défauts du modèle, résumeses résultats et arrive à des conclusions politiques impliquées par le modèle. / The aim of this PhD dissertation is to analyze the short-term impact offunctional income distribution on aggregate demand and its components in South Korea,Thailand, and China within a post-Keynesian framework. For this purpose, thedissertation proposes a theoretical model, and estimates its parameters for characterizingdemand regimes in these countries. Econometric analysis shows that domestic economiesof the countries are wage-led except for Thailand, in which some measures of incomedistribution point to a profit-led domestic demand regime, while total economies areprofit-led. The results indicate that pro-labor growth policies are not viable in the shortrun in these countries. The dissertation reviews the theories of income distribution andgrowth, offers a survey of the empirical literature on the post-Keynesian models ofincome distribution and growth, presents the theoretical model proposed, and undertakesan analysis of demand regimes in South Korea, Thailand, and China. Finally, thedissertation addresses the shortcomings of the model, summarizes its findings discussesthe implied policy conclusions.

Questo lavoro si compone di due parti. La prima parte, costituita dal capitolo primo, fornisce una comparazione teorica di due teorie economiche in ambito di dottrina monetaria, ovvero la teoria New Keynesiana e quella Post Keynesiana. Nella seconda parte, viene ideato e implementato attraverso il software un modello teorico macroeconomico di impostazione Post Keynesiana. L’argomento di analisi è il processo di cartolarizzazione – illustrato nel capitolo 2 – che è stato al centro della crisi finanziaria che ha colpito gli Stati Uniti nel 2007-2009. L’obiettivo del lavoro è quello di analizzare, attraverso la costruzione di un modello – esposto nel capitolo 3 – che utilizza la metodologia Stock-Flow Consistent, i collegamenti tra il settore finanziario e il mercato delle case al fine di stabilire la natura della crisi: si è trattato di una crisi trainata dalla finanza o dal comportamento delle famiglie? La novità del nostro lavoro consiste nella descrizione dettagliata nell’ambito dell’approccio Stock-Flow Consistent del comportamento delle banche private, assumendo una gestione attiva di bilancio da parte delle banche di investimento. / This work is basically divided into two parts. The first part – chapter 1 – provides a comparison between two theory of monetary economics: New Keynesian and Post Keynesian. The second part is represented by the elaboration and implementation of a theoretical macroeconomic model, grounded in Post Keynesian theory. The subject under investigation is the securitization process – illustrated in chapter 2 – which has been at the centre of the 2007-2009 crisis in the United States. The aim is to analyze, through the construction of an elaborate model – in chapter 3 – the links between the financial sector and the housing market and to assess the nature of the crisis: was the 2007-2009 financial crisis a households-led or a finance-led crisis? The novelty of our work is represented by the detailed description in the Stock-Flow Consistent approach of the private banking sector, assuming that investment banks carry out an active management of their balance sheets.

No description available.

The aim of the paper is to contrast and test the NAIRU theory and the Keynesian theory of unemployment econometrically. For the former, wage push variables are key in explaining the rise of European unemployment, for the latter accumulation is. The theories are tested using time series data for Germany, France, Italy, the UK and the USA, using the seemingly unrelated regression method (SUR). Unemployment benefits, union density and the tax wedge were used as wage push variables, and the growth of business capital stock as the accumulation variable. The NAIRU specification performed poorly, with only the tax wedge having a positive effect on unemployment as predicted. The Keynesian approach was more successful, with accumulation being statistically significant in all countries. Moreover, the tax wedge and accumulation are fairly robust to changes in the specification and can be pooled across countries. (author's abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

The Revenue Acts of 1962. and particularly 1964 signaled to many historians and economists alike the genesis of a public acceptance of Keynesian economics. No longer would the public expect the Federal Government to remain inert during the vacillations of the business cycle but would instead anticipate the use of the Government's taxing and expenditure powers to assure economic growth, stable prices, and full employment. To many, this change in public attitude represented a radical departure from American tradition. Jim Heath cites James Tobin, one of the President's economic advisors, as suggesting that the "transformation of thinking by men of affairs--businessmen, bankers, congressmen, financial journalists, editorial writers—[was] nothing less than a revolution."1 The purpose of this paper is to examine the statements and public attitudes of these "men of affairs" in order to determine how they were "transformed" and more importantly, how they in turn attempted to "revolutionize" public attitudes toward Keynesian economics. The study concentrates specifically on public opinion about deficit spending.This paper additionally examines the role of President Kennedy and the Council of Economic Advisors in instigating public "acceptance" of "Keynesian" policies. The study explores the attempts to popularize and sell a relatively sophisticated economic ideology to the public. Traditional sources have suggested that the Administration instigated and facilitated public acceptance of Keynesian policies. For instance, economist Seymour Harris suggests thatThe major credit . . . for the increasing acceptance of modern economics belongs to President Kennedy. He had become the most literate of all Presidents in his understanding of modern economics and revealed .1 James Tobin, "The Intellectual Revolution in United States Economic Policy Planning" (unpublished lecture, University of Essex, England, January 18, 1966), as cited in Jim Heath, John F. Kennedy and the Business Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969), p. 38. great courage in his willingness to risk political losses in putting his economics to the test of the market place. 2 The conclusions of this work, however, disagree with these contentions. While maintaining that the Executive Branch may have had a hand in "popularizing" certain stimulative fiscal policies to facilitate economic growth, this study finds little justification for the conclusion that the Administration actually added to "increasing acceptance of modern economics."This work explores the techniques utilized by various individuals interested in advancing the tax cuts. It also investigates appeals to the anti-deficit attitudes of the American public by individuals opposed to the tax program. In both instances, the study identifies certain common arguments utilized by both pro-and anti-tax cut forces. These arguments then become the basis for the study's analysis and conclusions. Throughout, special attention is paid to the role of public values in dictating the techniques most often employed by opposing aides during the tax cut. 2 Seymour Harris, "Economics of the Kennedy Years," in John F. Kennedy and the New Frontier, ed. By Aida DiPace Donald (New York: Hill and Wang, 1966), p. 86. discussions. The study finds that appeals to basic values are more persuasive in directing public attitudes than are attempts to reveal the economic analysis and theory behind the cuts. Therefore, in most instances, mass public economic education is usually discarded in favor of affective polemics directed toward gaining public support. An examination of the techniques used by various individuals in advancing their attitude toward the Federal debt is accomplished through an examination of "popular" sources, including periodicals, journals, and some government documents that reflected the Administration's position. Every attempt was made to include representative samples from both "liberal" and "fiscally conservative" sources. In order to provide some theoretical basis for evaluating the comments made by publicly visible individuals, the paper presents an abbreviated survey of both historical and analytical views of public debt. The major portion of the work consists of a chronological examination of the legislative progressions of the Tax Bills as they advanced through a myriad of obstacles on their way to becoming law. Conclusions are drawn both on the Administration's effectiveness in getting the Bills through the Congress as well as the mass "economic education" which supposedly occurred duringthe three years leading to the final passage of both tax cuts.

Distinguishing between profit led and growth led demand regimes, we analyze the conditions of existence and stability of long run equilibrium of unemployment. The model we employ has at its center the relation between growth and distribution. Growth can be either wage led or profit led. Distribution itself is a function of the unemployment rate, with higher unemployment leading to a higher profit share. We use Okun's Law to close the model, making the change of the rate of unemployment a function of growth. The interesting result of our analysis is that in profit led demand regime the short run and long run equilibrium are stable. However, if the demand regime is wage led, the same conditions that guarantee stability of the goods market equilibrium in the short run render impossible the existence of a long run equilibrium rate of unemployment, and vice versa. Thus, if Kalecki's proposition that higher wages lead to higher growth is true, there will be no equilibrium rate of unemployment in the long run that serves as an anchor for the economic system. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Economics. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2007. / "A dissertation in economics and social science consortium." Advisor: Frederic S. Lee. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed July 30, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-220). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Economics, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-95).