Malcolm Sawyer

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• BA (Oxon), MSc(Econ)
• Professor Emeritus at University of Leeds

The paper undertakes macroeconomic analysis of Universal Basic Income (UBI). It focuses on issues of paying for and the funding of universal basic income. A number of proposals are examined and the limitations of borrowing and money creation for the funding of UBI are indicated. It is generally argued that funding of UBI should be examined in terms...

Thank you for reading this audit of the political party manifestos in advance of the 2024 election. This is the third time Academics Stand Against Poverty UK (ASAP UK) have carried out a rapid review of the party manifestos to produce the audit as a source of information for those in the country concerned about poverty and trying to decide which pa...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a who...

This paper seeks to first identify the reasons for the prevalence of unemployment in market economies. A range of constraints (such as the foreign trade one) and inadequate aggregate demand features in these explanations. The achievement of full employment requires these constraints to be eased, and moving the inflationary barrier is discussed in s...

This paper provides remarks on modern monetary theory (MMT) from a Kaleckian perspective in response to a paper by Drumetz/Pfister. The distinction between initial financing and final financing is drawn up to argue for clear separation of how expenditure is financed and funded, and pointing to the confusions that have arisen. Some issues of crowdin...

The notion of an ‘independent’ central bank has dominated monetary policy debates for the past three decades. The arguments for the political independence of central banks are closely related to the adoption of ‘inflation targeting’. The arguments for an independent central bank are based on the ‘credibility’ of the ‘conservative’ central bank in c...

Monetary policy is inevitably operated by a central bank in the context of a specific banking and financial system and responding to the economic issues of the time. Financialisation in the present era, broadly the past four decades, has not only involved the continuing growth of the financial sector but also a more market-orientated banking system...

Monopoly capitalism can be seen as ‘actually existing neo-liberalism’, and the ‘worship of markets’ from doctrines of neo-liberalism operates to support monopoly capitalism. In recent decades, there has been an evolution from forms of national monopoly capitalism to transnational monopoly capitalism. Aspects of the processes of financialisation are...

The basic argument of this paper is that policies adopted to address the climate emergency and environmental degradation more generally should be embedded within an industrial strategy (labelled an environmental industrial strategy). An industrial strategy is viewed as government-led mapping out the developmental path for an economy, from which sup...

This paper focuses on financialisation in the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the past three decades. The key economic features of the GCC countries relevant for financialisation are outlined. The dimensions of financialisation are drawn to allow investigation of financial developments in the GCC countries. The evolving struc...

The argument for zero economic growth comes from environmental sustainability considerations. But can zero economic growth be achieved in demand-driven economy? What are the macro conditions under which it could be achieved, and would it be sustainable? There are a range of issues which would have to be resolved if a zero growth economy is to be ac...

The paper considers some of the issues for the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy which arise in the era of financialisation. It opens with a critical assessment of the dominant approach to monetary policy, namely inflation targeting underpinned by the 'new consensus in macroeconomics'. Within that analytical framework the role of the 'natural r...

The paper brings together a range of ideas on the construction and nature of what may be termed a post neo-liberal social economy. The social democratic era of the early postwar decades and the neo-liberal era of the past four decades are briefly considered. Some general thoughts on the mechanisms of economic coordination under the heading of marke...

This book explores the issues caused by climate change and environmental degradation, alongside the economic policies that can help secure an environmentally sustainable future. Through examining sustainability and resilience, the neoliberal globalised trading system and recent economic policies are questioned to inquire into whether capitalist eco...

The purpose of the paper is to provide a comprehensive comparison of fiscal and monetary policies with different forms of public expenditure, including a job guarantee (JG) plan. Our key findings are as follows. First, expansionary fiscal policies (including JG) are effective in reflating the economy independently of the way in which they are funde...

The focus is on the economic policies pursued in the UK in response to the coronavirus crisis in the first twelve months of that crisis (February 2020 to January 2021). The measures of lock-down, quarantine, limitations on travel etc. are discussed as relevant for economic policies. The timeline of the policy responses to coronavirus, the evolution...

Abstract The level of public debt in many countries has risen sharply as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy responses to it. The major questions are how should governments respond to these higher debt levels and what should inform future fiscal policies? The budget deficit position after the pandemic will tend to decline as econo...

The period of past four decades has been characterized as one of neo-liberalism, financialization, globalization, privatization and de-regulation. Inequality has risen in industrialised countries, labour’s share in national income has been in decline and economic growth slowed. The evidence of the damage to the environment from human economic activ...

The paper discusses the nature of the present era of financialisation, outlining the changes in the financial sector and its relations with the real sector which are particularly relevant for the climate emergency. The relationship between growth of the financial sector ('financial development') and economic growth is reviewed, and the relevant of...

This paper revisits the writings of Michal Kalecki which relate to issues of fiscal policy, budget deficits and securing full employment in capitalist economies. It seeks to relate those writings to the recent fiscal policy debates after the global financial crises. It covers the issues of the financing and funding of public expenditure and private...

The key features of heterodox macroeconomic analysis are outlined. The relationships in general terms between micro-, meso- and macroeconomics are considered, specifically the nation state orientation of what is termed macroeconomics, and relate them to the analysis of a monetary production economy. Ideas on fundamental uncertainty have been a key...

The construction of the Economic and Monetary Union and its fiscal policy agenda have not been conducive for the attainment of full employment, ‘Fiscal discipline’ has been a major pillar of the structure of EMU since before its formation through the role of budget deficits and debt ratios in the convergence criteria of the Maastricht Treaty, then...

The paper opens with a consideration of the historical developments on the nature and features of money and endogenous money, and the post-Keynesian revival of ideas of endogenous money. Particular attention is drawn to the work of Basil Moore in relation to endogenous money, including the location of that analysis with commercial banks (some of wh...

The paper opens with a brief sketch of the origins of money and the nature of "modern money" in respect of the role of the state, central bank and commercial banks. outlined. It is argued that there has been a lack of attention to the application of the ideas on initial finance and final finance drawn from the Italian circuitist analysis tradition,...

Financialisation has accompanied the expansion of the capitalist economies for well over one and a half centuries. It has, though, taken different forms, proceeded at different speeds and had different geographical spreads. The paper elaborates on the nature of financialisation and the spread and growth of the financial sector in the past four deca...

Measuring Poverty around the World. ByAnthony B. Atkinson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019. 464 pp. Illustrations, tables, bibliography, index. Cloth, $29.95. ISBN 978-0-691-19122-5. - Volume 93 Issue 3 - Malcolm Sawyer

Government can always finance its expenditure with the cooperation of the central bank. Key issue should be the desirability of proposed expenditure, resource and funding implications. It is argued that ‘people’s quantitative easing’ does not contribute beyond what traditional fiscal policy could achieve. The ‘golden rule’ whereby borrowing is perm...

Current account imbalances and the Economic and Monetary Union

Government can always finance its expenditure with the co-operation of the central bank. Key issue should be the desirability of proposed expenditure, resource and funding implications. It is argued that ‘people’s quantitative easing’ does not contribute beyond what traditional fiscal policy could achieve. The ‘golden rule’ whereby borrowing is per...

‘Structural reforms’ and the euro crisis

Deconstructing the euro?

The operation of budgets constraints in the Euroarea

Unemployment insurance and the Economic and Monetary Union

In the past few decades, and intensified since the global financial crisis of August 2007, heterodox macroeconomics has developed apace and its scope has broadened in a number of directions. The purpose of this volume is to review the ‘state of the art’ in heterodox macroeconomics, its strengths and weaknesses and future directions. Heterodox macro...

Kalecki and Keynes were both major contributors to what would now be referred to as post-Keynesian economics. Their ideas on the importance of demand for the level of economic activity and the role of investment (and others), developed at much the same time in the 1930s, have often been linked together and sometimes seen as a case of simultaneous d...

Abstract The paper sets out and elaborates on six propositions on budget deficits, public debt and money which should inform debates on fiscal policy. The propositions are: 1. Money availability is not a limitation on government expenditure as the central bank is able to provide any required finance. The key considerations should focus on the issue...

The paper sets out and elaborates on six propositions on budget deficits, public debt and money which should inform debates on fiscal policy. The propositions are: 1. Money availability is not a limitation on government expenditure as the central bank is able to provide any required finance. The key considerations should focus on the issues of the...

This chapter outlines how the pace and structure of financialisation have differed over time and across countries, and also how income distribution (inequality of personal income, distribution between wages and profits) has proceeded with different time profiles and structures. This chapter outlines the nature and features of financialisation in th...

Malcolm Sawyer continues in this chapter with considering the relationships between microeconomics, mesoeconomics and macroeconomics. Macroeconomic analysis has often been accused of lacking ‘microeconomic foundations’. However, macroeconomic analysis always had microeconomic underpinnings though not ones based on lifetime utility maximisation. The...

This book is the fifteenth volume in the renowned International Papers in Political Economy (IPPE) series which explores the latest developments in political economy. Containing contributions by experts in the field, this book focuses on topics that address the ongoing debate of inequalities in economic systems. Inequality has been considered a pro...

Top Incomes in France in the Twentieth Century: Inequality and Redistribution, 1901–1998. ByThomas Piketty translated bySeth Ackerman. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2018. ix + 1,261 pp. Figures, tables, appendices, bibliography, notes, index. Cloth, $35.00. ISBN: 978-0-674-73769-3. - Volume 92 Issue 4 - Malcolm Sawyer

This paper is a rejoinder to Dyson, Hodgson and van Lerven (2016; thereafter DHVL), which is an attempted rebuttal of a range of critiques made of full reserve banking (FRB) in the recent symposium of this Journal (September 2016, vol. 40, no. 5) titled “‘Cranks’ and ‘brave heretics’: Rethinking money and banking after the Great Financial Crisis”....