Income distribution, inflation and economic growth: A post-Keynesian approach

Abstract

The dispute between social classes for fractions of income was a central theme for economic analysis at least since David Ricardo and Karl Marx. Its importance as an interpretative key declined with the marginalist revolution of the late nineteenth century and did not regain its central role in the conventional economic approach ever since. However, its relevance was maintained among heterodox economists such as Michal Kalecki and reinvigorated by post-Keynesian thinking. This paper seeks to offer three analytical contributions to the post- Keynesian literature: (1) it presents an integrated framework on the relationship between distributive conflict, inflation and economic growth in an open economy with government; (2) it proposes the use of a general framework, based on liquid preference, assets own interest rates, currency hierarchy and productivity differentials to understand the determinants of the spot exchange rate; and (3) it suggests a distinct monetary rule to take into account the role of interest rates on distributive conflict inflation and demand and growth regimes.

Keywords

• income distribution conflict
• exchange rate
• inflation
• economic growth