Thomas Palley (born March 17, 1956) is an American
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...
who has served as the chief economist for the
United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission
The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (informally, the US-China Commission, USCC) is an independent agency of the United States government. It was established on October 30, 2000, through the Floyd D. Spence National Defe ...
.
Career
Palley received his Bachelor of Arts degree from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1976. He earned a master's degree in
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...
and a PhD in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...
from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. Palley founded the Economics for Democratic & Open Societies project. He states its purpose is to "stimulate public discussion about what kinds of economic arrangements and conditions are needed to promote democracy and open society."
[http://www.thomaspalley.com/?page_id=11 Thomas Palley Economics for Democratic & Open Societies] Palley's previous positions include director of the
Open Society Institute
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a st ...
’s Globalization Reform Project, and Assistant Director of Public Policy for the
AFL-CIO.
His work has covered macroeconomic theory and policy, international finance and trade, economic development, and labor markets where his approach is
Post-Keynesian
Post-Keynesian economics is a school of economic thought with its origins in '' The General Theory'' of John Maynard Keynes, with subsequent development influenced to a large degree by Michał Kalecki, Joan Robinson, Nicholas Kaldor, Sidne ...
.
Post-Keynesian work
Academically his best known work is the book ''Post Keynesian Economics: Debt, Distribution, and the Macro Economy''. In this book Palley tries to develop Post-Keynesian macroeconomic
models that combine the insights of various 'brands' of
Post-Keynesian economics
Post-Keynesian economics is a school of economic thought with its origins in '' The General Theory'' of John Maynard Keynes, with subsequent development influenced to a large degree by Michał Kalecki, Joan Robinson, Nicholas Kaldor, Sidney ...
including the following: Yale Keynesianism (
James Tobin
James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He d ...
), Cambridge–UK Keynesianism (
Nicholas Kaldor
Nicholas Kaldor, Baron Kaldor (12 May 1908 – 30 September 1986), born Káldor Miklós, was a Cambridge economist in the post-war period. He developed the "compensation" criteria called Kaldor–Hicks efficiency for welfare comparisons (1939), ...
), and American Post-Keynesianism (
Paul Davidson,
Hyman Minsky
Hyman Philip Minsky (September 23, 1919 – October 24, 1996) was an American economist, a professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis, and a distinguished scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. His research ...
).
A critique of the book was written by
Basil Moore, also a
Post Keynesian economist. Moore argues that Palley succeeds in demonstrating the coherence of Post-Keynesian macroeconomics. This is done via the concepts of effective demand, price-setting, quantity-taking fix-price supply behavior and the ineffectiveness of nominal wage and price adjustments as a means of remedying aggregate demand deficiencies. But Moore raises the criticism that by using neoclassical tools and methodology Palley has failed to take both time and uncertainty (key Post-Keynesian concerns) in a sufficiently serious fashion.
[Basil J. Moore (1997) Book Review of Thomas Palley, Post Keynesian Economics: Debt, Distribution and the Macroeconomy, Journal of Comparative Economics Volume 25, Issue 3, December 1997, pp. 473–476]
Selected works
* ''Post Keynesian Economics: Debt, Distribution, and the Macro Economy'', Macmillan Press, 1996. Paperback edition, 1996.
* ''From Financial Crisis to Stagnation: The Destruction of Shared Prosperity and the Role of Economics'', Cambridge University Press, 2012, Hardback edition.
References
External links
Palley's website and blog*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palley, Thomas
1956 births
21st-century American economists
Post-Keynesian economists
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Yale University alumni