Keynesianism as Fulfillment

Jesse Gastelle

Advisor: Peter J Boettke, PhD, Department of Economics

Committee Members: Richard E. Wagner, Christopher J. Coyne

Enterprise Hall, #318
July 22, 2013, 11:30 AM to 08:30 AM

Abstract:

This dissertation looks at the Keynesian Revolution from a constitutional economic perspective. The first paper focuses on the History of Economic Thought aspect of the Revolution. It is argued that Keynesianism was the fulfillment of a trend in economic thinking that increasingly ignored the role of institutions in economic analysis and the role of comparative institutional analysis in political economy. The second paper focuses on the relationship between Keynesianism and the role of the economist in society. It is here argued that Keynesian economics fulfilled the demand for expertise that derived from the Progressive reforms of American public administration throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The third paper focuses on the failures of Keynesian policy prescriptions. It is argued that the bureaucratic administration through which the Keynesian prescriptions are implemented are incompatible with constitutional democracy and result in ongoing deficits, inflation, and growth in government.