Peter Temin

The United States is becoming a nation of rich and poor, with few families in the middle. In this book, MIT economist Peter Temin offers an illuminating way to look at the vanishing middle class. Temin argues that American history and politics, particularly slavery and its aftermath, play an important part in the widening gap between rich and poor. Temin employs a well-known, simple model of a dual economy to examine the dynamics of the rich/poor divide in America, and outlines ways to work toward greater equality so that America will no longer have one economy for the rich and one for the poor.Many poorer Americans live in conditions resembling those of a developing country -- substandard education, dilapidated housing, and few stable employment opportunities. And although almost half of black Americans are poor, most poor people are not black. Conservative white politicians still appeal to the racism of poor white voters to get support for policies that harm low-income people as a whole, casting recipients of social programs as the Other -- black, Latino, not like "us." Politicians also use mass incarceration as a tool to keep black and Latino Americans from participating fully in society. Money goes to a vast entrenched prison system rather than to education. In the dual justice system, the rich pay fines and the poor go to jail.

Why the United States has developed an economy divided between rich and poorand how racism helped bring this about.The United States is becoming a nation of rich and poor, with few families in the middle. In this book, MIT economist Peter Temin offers an illuminating way to look at the vanishing middle class. Temin argues that American history and politics, particularly slavery and its aftermath, play an important part in the widening gap between rich and poor. Temin employs a well-known, simple model of a dual economy to examine the dynamics of the rich/poor divide in America, and outlines ways to work toward greater equality so that America will no longer have one economy for the rich and one for the poor.Many poorer Americans live in conditions resembling those of a developing countrysubstandard education, dilapidated housing, and few stable employment opportunities. And although almost half of black Americans are poor, most poor people are not black. Conservative white politicians still appeal to the racism of poor white voters to get support for policies that harm low-income people as a whole, casting recipients of social programs as the Otherblack, Latino, not like "us." Politicians also use mass incarceration as a tool to keep black and Latino Americans from participating fully in society. Money goes to a vast entrenched prison system rather than to education. In the dual justice system, the rich pay fines and the poor go to jail.

En vista de que la crisis económica global sigue causando estragos, algunos responsables políticos han reivindicado un enfoque más keynesiano sobre los actuales problemas económicos. En el presente libro, los economistas Peter Temin y David Vines ofrecen una accesible introduccion a las ideas keynesianas, poniendo en relacion la perspectiva de Keynes con la economia global actual y ofreciendo a los lectores una herramienta para comprender los presentes debates economicos. Tras un repaso al pensamiento economico anterior a Keynes, los autores explican las dificultades que este tuvo para escapar de las ideas recibidas. Presentan, ademas, el analisis keynesiano de una economia cerrada, mediante unos graficos simples que muestran los analisis formales de Keynes de una forma accesible. Para finalizar, comentan los retos de la economia mundial actual, poniendo en valor la utilidad de un acercamiento keynesiano simple a las actuales decisiones en politica economica. Las ideas keynesianas, defienden, pueden sentar las bases para una vuelta al crecimiento economico.

El pensamiento de John Maynard Keynes tuvo un profundo impacto en la teoría económica del siglo XX. Tras oponerse al Tratado de Versalles y participar en el comité que investigó el crac del 29, escribio la Teoria general de la ocupacion, el interes y el dinero, que en su dia fue revolucionaria. Sus ideas, sin embargo, hoy se han integrado al sentido comun: demanda agregada, rechazo del automatismo del mercado, la importancia del intervencionismo estatal, etc. Hoy, cuando las consecuencias de la crisis financiera del 2008 aun siguen presentes, el keynesianismo aun tiene mucho que enseñarnos. Los economistas Peter Temin y David Vines presentan una accesible introduccion a las ideas keynesianas, poniendo en relacion la perspectiva de Keynes con la economia mundial y ofreciendo a los lectores un modelo para comprender los presentes debates economicos.Escrito con un estilo accesible y ameno, situa la historia del pensamiento de Keynes dentro del marco mas amplio de la historia del pensamiento economico y la historia de las crisis macroeconomicas desde el periodo de entreguerras hasta el presente.Thomas Piketty

El pensamiento de John Maynard Keynes tuvo un profundo impacto en la teoría económica del siglo XX. Tras oponerse al Tratado de Versalles y participar en el comité que investigó el crac del 29, escribio la Teoria general de la ocupacion, el interes y el dinero, que en su dia fue revolucionaria. Sus ideas, sin embargo, hoy se han integrado al sentido comun: demanda agregada, rechazo del automatismo del mercado, la importancia del intervencionismo estatal, etc. Hoy, cuando las consecuencias de la crisis financiera del 2008 aun siguen presentes, el keynesianismo aun tiene mucho que enseñarnos. Los economistas Peter Temin y David Vines presentan una accesible introduccion a las ideas keynesianas, poniendo en relacion la perspectiva de Keynes con la economia mundial y ofreciendo a los lectores un modelo para comprender los presentes debates economicos.Escrito con un estilo accesible y ameno, situa la historia del pensamiento de Keynes dentro del marco mas amplio de la historia del pensamiento economico y la historia de las crisis macroeconomicas desde el periodo de entreguerras hasta el presente.Thomas Piketty

Why Keynes is relevant to todays global economic crisis, and how Keynesian ideas can point the way to renewed economic growth.As the global economic crisis continues to cause damage, some policy makers have called for a more Keynesian approach to current economic problems. In this book, the economists Peter Temin and David Vines provide an accessible introduction to Keynesian ideas that connects Keyness insights to todays global economy and offers readers a way to understand current policy debates. They survey economic thinking before Keynes and explain how difficult it was for Keynes to escape from conventional wisdom. They also set out the Keynesian analysis of a closed economy and expand the analysis to the international economy, using a few simple graphs to present Keyness formal analyses in an accessible way. Finally, they discuss problems of todays world economy, showcasing the usefulness of a simple Keynesian approach to current economic policy choices. Keynesian ideas, they argue, can lay the basis for a return to economic growth.