ABSTRACT
105It is generally agreed – at least outside mainstream macroeconomics – that the community of academic economists had a bad global financial crisis. This agreement involves more than simply repeating the well-worn observation that most of them failed to see the crisis coming. As most economists would deny that prediction is their main job, this is hardly a reason for deep introspection on their part. Of course, there were several macroeconomists who can justifiably claim to have sounded the alarm. However, they come from the margins of mainstream macroeconomics and find it hard to gain the ear of their more orthodox-minded colleagues. Thus, although Wynne Godley, Nouriel Roubini, Steve Keen, Dean Baker, Randall Wray, Michael Hudson, Karl Case and Marc Lavoie have substantial followings, they cannot speak on behalf of the entire profession (Bezemer, 2009).
