Title: Policy responses to economic and financial crises: insights from heterodox economics and psychoanalysis

Authors: Arturo Hermann

Addresses: Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), Piazza Indipendenza 4, 00185, Rome, Italy

Abstract: In this paper, we address several aspects of the present economic and social crisis from an interdisciplinary perspective. We focus attention on Institutional and Keynesian economics and on the role of public spending and credit creation in the formation of private sector aggregate profit. Contrary to 'market fundamentalism' this paper suggests that public intervention, in its various forms, constitutes a crucial factor for ensuring the development of today's economies and that attempts to reduce public spending at any cost are unlikely to solve our economic and social problems. Rather, a more effective process of participation and policy coordination is needed which involves a better use of public spending, and is less focused on the agenda of interest groups and more on society's needs. Finally, this paper discusses the contribution of psychoanalysis in building a policy roadmap for the solutions of today's most urgent economic and social problems.

Keywords: institutional economics; Keynesian economics; public spending; credit creation; psychoanalysis; participation; social value; policy coordination; Keynes; financial crises; economic crises; profit; public intervention.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2012.047477

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2012 Vol.3 No.1, pp.8 - 22

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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