Jan Toporowski Book order

Focusing on Michal Kalecki's mature work, this intellectual biography delves into his contributions to monetary economics, profit theory, and the challenges of socialism and developing nations. It highlights his pivotal role in economic planning during World War II at Oxford and his subsequent work with the United Nations on full employment and inflation. After returning to Poland in 1955, he further developed his theories on growth in socialist economies and the economics of developing countries, solidifying his influence on business cycle theory.

The essays delve into the causes of financial crises, exploring their social, economic, and cultural impacts. They critically analyze the limitations of policy responses when confronted with economic stagnation stemming from financial inflation, providing insights into the complexities of managing economic downturns.

In her intellectual history of theories about the impact of finance on macroeconomics, Toporowski (Oriental and African studies, U. of London, UK) reviews the thought of such figures as Thorstein Veblen, Rosa Luxemburg, Irving Fisher, John Maynard Keynes, Michael Kalecki, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Hyman Minsky. In the course of her exposition she finds that following the establishment of the classical consensus that finance merely intermediates and investment, there were essentially two waves in critical theories of finance—the first from the turn of the 20th century until the middle of the century and the second beginning in the 1970s—separated by an interregnum in which critical views of finance were concerned primarily with the interpretation of past history and coincided with the Keynesian boom after World War II. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The book presents an original theory of finance developed from a critical analysis, appealing to students and researchers in financial economics, as well as practitioners and policy-makers in the field. It explores innovative perspectives that challenge traditional views, making it a valuable resource for those seeking to deepen their understanding of financial systems and their implications.