Introduction (To Handbook of Post-Keynesian Economics : Oxford University Press: USA)

In this Introduction, we discuss the main themes of post-Keynesian economics, and the manner in which they are dealt with by the contributors to the Handbook. In particular, the important aspects of post-Keynesian analysis are identified, and their main critiques of mainstream theory are discussed. According to Joan Robinson “post-Keynesian has a definite meaning; it applies to an economic theory or method of analysis which takes account of the difference between the future and the past." In other words, historical time forms the basis of post-Keynesian analysis, which also stresses the importance of history, uncertainty, society and institutions in understanding economic phenomena