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Michał Kalecki Quotes

Michał Kalecki was a Polish economist. Over the course of his life, Kalecki worked at the London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Warsaw School of Economics and was an economic advisor to the governments of Poland, France, Cuba, Israel, Mexico and India. He also served as the deputy director of the United Nations Economic Department in New York City.

Kalecki has been called "one of the most distinguished economists of the 20th century" and "likely the most original one". It is often claimed that he developed many of the same ideas as John Maynard Keynes before Keynes, but he remains much less known to the English-speaking world. He offered a synthesis that integrated Marxist class analysis and the new literature on oligopoly theory, and his work had a significant influence on both the neo-Marxian and post-Keynesian schools of economic thought. He was one of the first macroeconomists to apply mathematical models and statistical data to economic questions. Being also a political economist and a person of leftist convictions, Kalecki emphasized the social aspects and consequences of economic policies.Kalecki made major theoretical and practical contributions in the areas of the business cycle, growth, full employment, income distribution, the political boom cycle, the oligopolistic economy, and risk. Among his other significant interests were monetary issues, economic development, finance, interest, and inflation. In 1970 Kalecki was nominated for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, but he died the same year. Wikipedia  

✵ 22. June 1899 – 18. April 1970
Michał Kalecki photo
Michał Kalecki: 16 quotes0 likes

Famous Michał Kalecki Quotes

“It has been frequently assumed that V is constant; and this indeed is the cornerstone of the quantity theory of money. But it seems fairly obvious that the velocity of circulation in fact depends on the short-term rate of interest.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 6, The Short Term Rate of Interest, p. 73

“The most important prerequisite for becoming an entrepreneur is the ownership of capital.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 8, Entrepreneurial Capital and Investment, p. 95

“Thus, even with relatively heavy damping such shocks generate fairly regular cycles.
The result is of considerable importance.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 13, The Business Cycle and Shocks, p. 142

“In any case of the budget deficit the private sector of the economy receives more from government expenditure than it pays in taxes.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 3, The Determinants of Profits, p. 51

“The capitalists of a country which manages to capture foreign markets from other countries are able to increase their profits at the expense of the capitalists of the other countries. Similarly, a colonial metropolis may achieve an export surplus through investment in its dependencies.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 3, The Determinants of Profits, p. 51

“It should be noticed that the whole approach is in contradiction to generally accepted views.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 1, Cost and Prices, p. 17

Michał Kalecki Quotes

“In a sense the budget deficit can be considered as an artificial export surplus.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 3, The Determinants of Profits, p. 51

“We have found that the degree of monopoly is likely to increase somewhat during depressions.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 2, Distribution of National Income, p. 31

“It is the export surplus and the budget deficit which enable the capitalists to make profits over and above their own purchases of goods and services.
The connection between 'external' profits and imperialism is obvious.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 3, The Determinants of Profits, p. 52

“Generally speaking, changes in the prices of finished goods are "cost determined" while changes in the prices of raw materials inclusive of primary foodstuffs are "demand determined."”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 1, Cost and Prices, p. 11

“An increase in the number of paupers does not broaden the market.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 15, Development Factors, p. 161

“It may thus be concluded that in the absence of 'development factors' the system lapses into a stationary state. These factors thus appear to be a prerequisite of a steady growth.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 14, The Process of Economic Development, p. 155

“It should first be stated that a joint-stock company is not a 'brotherhood of shareholders' but is managed by a controlling group of big shareholders while the rest of the shareholders do not differ from holders of bonds with a flexible rate of interest.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 8, Entrepreneurial Capital and Investment, p. 93

“Armaments and wars, usually financed by budget deficits, are also a source of this kind of profits.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 3, The Determinants of Profits, p. 52

“It is indeed paradoxical that, while the apologists of capitalism usually consider the 'price mechanism' to be the great advantage of the capitalist system, price flexibility proves to be a characteristic feature of the socialist economy.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 5, Determination of National Income and Consumption, p. 63

“[C]apitalist savings 'lead' profits. This result may appear paradoxical. 'Common sense' would suggest the opposite sequence—namely, that savings are determined by profits. This, how ever is not the case.”

Michał Kalecki

Source: Theory of Economic Dynamics (1965), Chapter 4, Profits and Investments, p. 55

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