ABSTRACT
Although many of the key ideas used by post-Keynesian macroeconomists can be traced back to at least the 1930s (particularly in the work of Kalecki and Keynes), it is only in the last fifteen to twenty years that a distinct school of thought under that title has emerged. 1, 2 Post-Keynesian economics does not make the sharp distinction between microeconomics and macroeconomics which is made in the neoclassical-Keynesian synthesis, so that, although we focus on macroeconomics in this chapter, we must also consider a number of aspects which are generally considered microeconomic (e.g. pricing). In addition, the focus on macroeconomics means that there is an implicit use of a narrow definition of post-Keynesian economics. 3 The coverage of this chapter is also limited in (at least) one other respect: namely, we do not discuss development and growth. This is a serious omission since many post-Keynesian writers have stressed the dynamic nature of capitalist economies and the need for an analysis which overcomes the shortcomings of static equilibrium analysis. However, a proper consideration of growth would require much more space than is available. 4
