FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep 17, 2012 #117
Contact: Kristin Pitts
(816) 235-6678
11th Biennial Post Keynesian Conference theme is Reclaiming the Keynesian Revolution
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Department of Economics will host the 11th international Post Keynesian Conference, “Reclaiming the Keynesian Revolution,” September 27-29 at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott.
The conference will draw more than 100 presenters and nearly 200 participants from six continents. It will bring together a wide array of academic and applied economists, policymakers, and other interested parties.
Economist John Maynard Keynes is considered one of the founders of modern macroeconomics. The 2008 financial crisis has caused increased interest in “Keynesian” economics, since he advocated the use of fiscal and monetary measures to offset the impact of recessions. Post-Keynesian economics, is a school of economic thought with its roots in Keynes’ theories.
Dr. James Galbraith , the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. chair in government/business relations at the University of Texas-Austin, will deliver a keynote address at 1:30 p.m. Friday, September 28. Galbraith holds degrees from Harvard and Yale.
The Honorable Lord Robert Skidelsky will deliver the closing keynote address at the conference dinner at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 29. Skidelsky is an emeritus professor of political economy at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. His three-volume biography of Keynes received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations’ Prize for International Relations.
Since the 1980 inaugural Post Keynesian Conference in Trieste, Italy, UMKC has played a major role in the conference. Jan Kregel, a visiting professor at UMKC, was one of the co-founders of the conference. Today, UMKC Economics Professor Randall Wray is organizing the conference, which will include presentations from UMKC faculty and students.
For the past several years, the conference has been held in Kansas City. The UMKC Economics Department has a history of going against traditional approaches to economic theory. Using many of the theories and logic expounded in the Post Keynesian Conference, UMKC economics professors correctly predicted the U.S. housing market crash, the recession and the Eurozone debt crisis.
“We were among the few who saw the global financial crisis coming. We were able to explain why it happened, and formulate policy responses,” Wray said.
The conference is co-sponsored by UMKC, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, the Ford Foundation and the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics.
About the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.
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