Political Economy of Money and Finance - Hardcover

Itoh, M.; Lapavitsas, C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 033366521X ISBN 13: 9780333665213

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1998

Synopsis

Pronounced instability has characterised the capitalist world economy since the early 1970s, much of it originating in the mechanisms of money and finance. Several different government policies have failed to restore harmony, often appearing to exacerbate economic instability. This volume argues that monetary and financial instability has its roots in capitalist production and trade themselves, as well as in the defects of the mechanisms of money and finance. Thus, no mix of policies can fully establish monetary and financial harmony, though different policies can significantly amerliorate or worsen instability. To sustain its central claim, the book re-examines the historical and logical origin of money, the creation of interest-bearing capital, the spontaneous emergence of a capitalist credit system, the mechanism of capitalist crises, and the nature and functions of central banks. Further support is provided by the systematic examination of the monetary and financial analysis of all of the important schools of thought, including Classical political economy, Marxism, Keynesianism, Post-keynesianism and monetarism. The authors' ability to present important insights from Japanese political economy, not previously discussed in Anglo-Saxon economies, makes this a highly significant work in radial political economy, offering a systematic and up-to-date Marxist analysis.

About this title

About the Author:

MAKOTO ITOH is Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo. He has taught widely at many universities abroad, including the New School for Social Research, New York University, Thammasat University at Bangkok, Cambridge University, London University, the University of Manitoba and York University, Canada. His books include Value and Crisis, The Basic Theory of Capitalism, The World Economic Crisis and Japanese Capitalism, and, in Japanese, The Theory of Value and Capital, Contemporary Socialism and Contemporary Capitalism.

COSTAS LAPAVITSAS is Lecturer in Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His area of specialisation is Japan, in particular Japanese finance. He has also taught at the University of Tokyo, the University of Westminster, and the University of Brighton. His published works include several academic articles in English, Japanese, and Greek.

Synopsis:

To explain the pronounced instability of the world economy since the 1970s, the book offers an important and systematic theoretical examination of money and finance. It re-examines the classical foundations of political economy and the creator of money. It assesses all of the important theoretical schools since then, including Marxist, Keynesian, post-Keynesian and monetarist thinkers. By presenting important insights from Japanese political economy previously ignored in Anglo-Saxon economics, the authors make a significant contribution to radical political economy based on a thorough historical analysis of capitalism.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 033366521X
• ISBN 13: 9780333665213
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 319