- Steve Keen
Dr Steve Keen is an Associate Professor in
economics andfinance at theUniversity of Western Sydney . He criticizes both modernneoclassical economics and (some of)marxian economics as inconsistent, unscientific and empirically unsupported. The major influences on Keen's thinking about economics includeHyman Minsky ,Piero Sraffa andJoseph Alois Schumpeter . His work has been published in the academic journal "Physica A "."Debunking Economics"
Keen's full-range critique of
neoclassical economics is contained in his book "Debunking Economics". Keen collects and popularizes a wide variety of critiques of numerous aspects of neoclassical economic theory and argues that together they show that neoclassical assumptions are badly flawed.Keen's book closes with a survey of various schools of
heterodox economics , concluding "None of these is at present strong enough or complete enough to declare itself a contender for the title of ‘the’ economic theory of the 21st century." However, he argues that neoclassical economics is a degenerative research program, not generating new knowledge but growing a belt of protective auxiliary hypotheses to shield its core beliefs from critique.Critique of neoclassical theory of the firm
Keen's own work (as opposed to his popularization) has focused on refuting the neoclassical theory of the firm, which argues that firms will set marginal revenue equal to marginal cost. Keen notes that empirical research finds real firms set marginal revenue well above marginal cost. He cites Eiteman & Guthrie (1952), finding 89% of firms do so, as well as more recent work by
Alan Blinder . He argues (in a paper published in "Physica A" [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Micro/KeenStandish2006_CritiqueNeoclassicalTheoryOfFirm_PhysicaA370pp81-85.pdf] ) that this is because economic theory neglects the effect on price of increasing or reducing supply by a single item and finds that charging a markup is actually a more stable, profitable equilibrium. Other economists argue that Keen has badly misunderstood the economic theory involved. [ [http://robertvienneau.blogspot.com/2006/07/response-to-comments-on-steve-keens.html Thoughts On Economics: Response To Comments On Steve Keen's Work ] ]Books
Steve Keen's books include:
* [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/ Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences] (2001, Pluto Press Australia) ISBN 1-86403-070-4"Debunking economics" has the interesting feature of being written for a lay audience, but with an accompanying web site which provides more detailed mathematical expositions for experts.* Co-editor of: "Commerce, Complexity and Evolution: Topics in Economics, Finance, Marketing, and Management: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Symposium in Economic Theory and Econometrics." New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62030-9.
ee also
* Heterodox Economics
*Paul Ormerod References
* Eiteman & Guthrie (1952): "The shape of the average cost curve", American Economic Review 42: 832-838.
* Blinder, Alan; et al. (1998): "Asking about prices: a new approach to understanding price stickiness", Russell Sage Foundation, New York.External links
* [http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/clb/sef/staff/list/skeen Academic website]
* [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/ Website of "Debunking Economics"]
* [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Sample/method.htm There is madness in their method] A sample chapter.
* [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Micro/KeenStandish2006_CritiqueNeoclassicalTheoryOfFirm_PhysicaA370pp81-85.pdf Keen's Physica A article on the invalidity neoclassical economic theory of the firm] .
* A more detailed [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Talks/KeenDebunkingTheoryOfTheFirm2006.PPT presentation] of the contents in the Physica A article.
* A [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Articles/Nature_News_Feature.doc news feature] on anEconophysics paper co-written by Prof. Keen appeared in the journal Nature, accompanied by an [http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Articles/Nature20060608EconophysicsEditorial_p667l.tif editorial] .
* [http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/ Oz Debtwatch blog]
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