Keynesian Studies – serie

Arguably the single most influential work of economics of the 20th century was John Maynard Keynes' "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money". In this text Keynes set out his revolutionary new theory of the macroeconomy, in which the equilibrium level of output and employment was made a function of the level of effective demand. The practical effect of this theory was to provide a rationale for the policy measures to relieve unemployment which were then being advocated among economists. This study examines in detail the pioneering economic work and attempts to explain, with constant reference to the original sources, the complexity of Keynes' theories and the critical response they evoked.

An introduction to Keynesian economics and a study of the influence of Keynes' ideas on economic theory and economic policy through conversations with eight leading economists, including several Nobel prizewinners. It has been fifty years since Keynes published his controversial book, The General Theory of Employment (1936) and yet he remains a controversial figure to this day, attacked and criticised from both left and right, as this book amply demonstrates.

This is a pioneering study based on original sources of the least researched aspect of Keynes, namely, the crucial formative role of his Indian connection in the making of Keynes as an economist and policy-maker. It analyses the interaction of Indian experience on Keynes's thought and work and of Keynes on Indian economic thought and policy.