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'''John Maynard Keynes''' ([[5 June]] [[1883]] - [[21 April]] [[1946]]) was a British economist. His ideas were highly influential leading to him generally being credited as being one of the founding fathers of modern theoretical [[Macroeconomics|macroeconomics]]. Breaking with the [[Neo-classical Economics|neoclassical]] orthodoxy of his era, Keynes argued that macroeconomic relationships differ from their [[Microeconomics|microeconomic]] counterparts. He went on to advocate government intervention into markets and proposed a demand-driven model for money. His theories formed the basis of what came to be known as [[Keynesian economics]].
==Biography==
Keynes was born in Cambridge, and went on to attend [[Eton College]] where he displayed an aptitude in a number of subjects, notably [[Mathematics|mathematics]], [[Classics|classics]], and [[History|history]]. In 1902 he entered [[King's College, Cambridge]] to read for a degree in mathematics, however, due to his interest in politics he found himself increasingly drawn toward economics. It was at Cambridge that he found himself under the tutelage of [[Alfred Marshall]] and [[A.C. Pigou]]. Keynes accepted an economics lectureship at Cambridge funded personally by Marshall. Soon thereafter he took a leave of absence to work for the British Treasury, an institution in which his expertise was frequently called pon during the [[First World War]]. Indeed, at the end of the war, Keynes was selected to be the Treasury's principal representative at the [[Paris Peace Conference]] of 1919. The subsequent [[Treaty of Versailles]] precipitated Keynes' resignation from the Treasury, as he felt it was draconian in its treatment of Germany.
He returned to Cambridge and resumed teaching, however, the publication of [[The Economic Consequences of Peace]] in 1920, elevated him to a new level of fame. He furthered these ideas in 1922's [[A Revision of the Treaty]], in which he argued that the reparations that Germany was being forced to pay would lead to the collapse of the German economy. In 1923, the German economy entered a period of [[hyperinflation]], in the eyes of many validating Keynes' critique. As the decade progressed, Keynes found himself becoming increasingly involved in the political process. First supporting the [[Liberal Party(UK)|Liberal Party's]] 1929 Election Manifesto, and later as an advisor to [[Ramsay MacDonald|Ramsay MacDonald's]] government.
Keynes' ''magnum opus'', however, would not come until 1936 with the publication of [[The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money]]. Largely a reaction to the high unemployment that had characterised post-war Britain, the book is widely seen as being among the most revolutionary works of modern economics, signalling a paradigm shift within modern economic thought. As the era went on his prestige and celebrity grew, in 1942 he was made a lord, and was Britain's representative at the 1944 [[Bretton Woods Conference]]. He died of [[myocardial infarction]] (heart attack) in 1946.
==Keynesian Economics==
Keynesianism centres around the concept of total spending within an economy, what Keynes terms [[aggregate demand]] and its effect upon output and inflation. In the eyes of Keynesians, the [[free market]] does not neccesarily tend toward [[full employment]]. Periods such as this were witnessed in the 1930's during the [[Great Depression]], and in the eyes of Keynes could only be solved by increasing the level of expenditure within the economy. In order to do this Keynes advocated increasing government expenditure, frequently in the form of deficit spending, in order to extricate the economy from recession. At the same time Keynes argued that if expenditure within the economy was too high and the economy was at full employment then this would inevitably lead to inflation, as such in periods such as this Keynes advocated tax increases, and a reduction in government expenditure in order to "deflate" the economy.
As is evident, Keynesian thinking went on to influence the fiscal policy of many governments, as well as influencing a generation of economists. That being said, Keynes was not without his critics, most notably [[Friedrich von Hayek]], whose critiques of Keynesian theory went on to form the basis of the [[Supply-side economics|Supply-side]], [[Monetarism|Monetarist]], and [[Austrian School|Austrian School's]] objections to Keynesianism.
==External Links==
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html John Maynard Keynes Biography] from ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics''
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Keynes/kynsCP.html J.M. Keynes, ''The Economic Consequences of Peace'']
*[http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/keynes/general-theory/ J.M. Keynes ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money'']
[[Category: Economists|Keynes, John Maynard]]
==Biography==
Keynes was born in Cambridge, and went on to attend [[Eton College]] where he displayed an aptitude in a number of subjects, notably [[Mathematics|mathematics]], [[Classics|classics]], and [[History|history]]. In 1902 he entered [[King's College, Cambridge]] to read for a degree in mathematics, however, due to his interest in politics he found himself increasingly drawn toward economics. It was at Cambridge that he found himself under the tutelage of [[Alfred Marshall]] and [[A.C. Pigou]]. Keynes accepted an economics lectureship at Cambridge funded personally by Marshall. Soon thereafter he took a leave of absence to work for the British Treasury, an institution in which his expertise was frequently called pon during the [[First World War]]. Indeed, at the end of the war, Keynes was selected to be the Treasury's principal representative at the [[Paris Peace Conference]] of 1919. The subsequent [[Treaty of Versailles]] precipitated Keynes' resignation from the Treasury, as he felt it was draconian in its treatment of Germany.
He returned to Cambridge and resumed teaching, however, the publication of [[The Economic Consequences of Peace]] in 1920, elevated him to a new level of fame. He furthered these ideas in 1922's [[A Revision of the Treaty]], in which he argued that the reparations that Germany was being forced to pay would lead to the collapse of the German economy. In 1923, the German economy entered a period of [[hyperinflation]], in the eyes of many validating Keynes' critique. As the decade progressed, Keynes found himself becoming increasingly involved in the political process. First supporting the [[Liberal Party(UK)|Liberal Party's]] 1929 Election Manifesto, and later as an advisor to [[Ramsay MacDonald|Ramsay MacDonald's]] government.
Keynes' ''magnum opus'', however, would not come until 1936 with the publication of [[The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money]]. Largely a reaction to the high unemployment that had characterised post-war Britain, the book is widely seen as being among the most revolutionary works of modern economics, signalling a paradigm shift within modern economic thought. As the era went on his prestige and celebrity grew, in 1942 he was made a lord, and was Britain's representative at the 1944 [[Bretton Woods Conference]]. He died of [[myocardial infarction]] (heart attack) in 1946.
==Keynesian Economics==
Keynesianism centres around the concept of total spending within an economy, what Keynes terms [[aggregate demand]] and its effect upon output and inflation. In the eyes of Keynesians, the [[free market]] does not neccesarily tend toward [[full employment]]. Periods such as this were witnessed in the 1930's during the [[Great Depression]], and in the eyes of Keynes could only be solved by increasing the level of expenditure within the economy. In order to do this Keynes advocated increasing government expenditure, frequently in the form of deficit spending, in order to extricate the economy from recession. At the same time Keynes argued that if expenditure within the economy was too high and the economy was at full employment then this would inevitably lead to inflation, as such in periods such as this Keynes advocated tax increases, and a reduction in government expenditure in order to "deflate" the economy.
As is evident, Keynesian thinking went on to influence the fiscal policy of many governments, as well as influencing a generation of economists. That being said, Keynes was not without his critics, most notably [[Friedrich von Hayek]], whose critiques of Keynesian theory went on to form the basis of the [[Supply-side economics|Supply-side]], [[Monetarism|Monetarist]], and [[Austrian School|Austrian School's]] objections to Keynesianism.
==External Links==
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html John Maynard Keynes Biography] from ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics''
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Keynes/kynsCP.html J.M. Keynes, ''The Economic Consequences of Peace'']
*[http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/keynes/general-theory/ J.M. Keynes ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money'']
[[Category: Economists|Keynes, John Maynard]]