Engelbert Stockhammer

This volume seeks to go beyond the microeconomic view of wages as a cost having negative consequences on a given firm, to consider the positive macroeconomic dynamics associated with wages as a major component of aggregate demand.

Löntagarnas andel av nationalinkomsten – den så kallade löneandelen – har minskat drastiskt de senaste 30 åren. Istället har ägarnas vinster ökat. Den här antologin försöker ge svar på hur och varför. En rad bidragande faktorer skärskådas: ökad automatisering av produktionen, maktförskjutningar mellan fackföreningar och arbetsgivare, nedskärningar i välfärdsstaten. Skribenterna är forskare med olika teoretiska perspektiv – neoklassisk nationalekonomi, maktresursteori, postkeynesianism och marxism. ”Ekonomin växer inte som den ska. Kapitalet klarar sig bra genom att ta en allt större del av kakan. Förlorarna är de som arbetar. De senaste årens utveckling visar på att frågan om löneandelen åter är aktuell. Som jag sa tidigare, diskussionen har bara börjat. Men det är en debatt vi måste ta. Innan rövarbaronerna och industrirobotarna har förvandlat vårt samhälle till något vi inte som vi inte känner igen och inte vill ha.” Paul Krugman, New York Times 9 december 2012

This volume seeks to go beyond the microeconomic view of wages as a cost having negative consequences on a given firm, to consider the positive macroeconomic dynamics associated with wages as a major component of aggregate demand.

Keynesian economists have continually highlighted the crucial role of effective demand and capital investment in determining the level of unemployment. However, this vital insight has been conspicuous by its absence in recent mainstream debates on the causes of the rise of unemployment in Europe. The dominant explanation of unemployment - the NAIRU theory - implies that wages are 'too high' and holds changes in labor market institutions responsible for the rise in unemployment. Given that wage shares have been falling for more than two decades and unemployment rates have remained high, it is surprising that this explanation has yet to be properly challenged. This book offers a long overdue and refreshing Keynesian approach to the rise of European unemployment. It critically discusses the NAIRU theory and presents econometric evidence to assess the relative importance of capital investment and labor market institutions. The author also explores the reasons for the slowdown in capital accumulation, and is able to establish a clear link between changes in the financial sector, changes in corporate governance and investment expenditures.This insightful theoretical and empirical analysis of mainstream and heterodox approaches to unemployment deserves a wide readership amongst academics, economists, graduate students and policymakers in the fields of labour market theory and policy, post Keynesian economics and macroeconomics. It will also make a substantial contribution to the on-going and highly pertinent debate on the economic, political and social problem of unemployment.