From equilibrium to disequilibrium : the genesis of Don Patinkin's interpretation of the Keynesian theory

Goulven Rubin (1)

1 PHARE - Pôle d'Histoire de l'Analyse et des Représentations Économiques

This paper explains the reasons that led Don Patinkin to interpret the Keynesian theory in a disequilibrium perspective. We claim that the author adopted this position because he believed that the assumption of wage rigidity misrepresented the concept of involuntary unemployment and that, consequently, it had to be rejected. It is shown that this conclusion resulted from the confrontation of Patinkin, during the writing of his Ph.D. thesis, with the interpretations of the Keynesian theory argued respectively by Oskar Lange, Lawrence Klein and Franco Modigliani.

Mots clés: Don Patinkin; Disequilibrium theory; Neoclassical Synthesis; History of macroeconomics; wage rigidity; Cowles Commission; Lawrence Klein; Jacob Marschak; Involuntary Unemployment; Franco Modigliani; Oskar Lange

Domaines: Economies et finances; Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Goulven Rubin. From equilibrium to disequilibrium : the genesis of Don Patinkin's interpretation of the Keynesian theory. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2002, 9 (2), pp.205-225. ⟨halshs-00636823⟩