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Lobster Magazine

The Deficit Myth
Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy

by Stephanie Kelton
London: John Murray Press, 2020, £30.00 (h/b)

Reviewed by Bartholomew Steer

This is a book designed to change the world. It takes on big issues, addresses them in terms that ordinary people can understand, and leaves the reader with the impression that, after reading the book, nothing will ever be the same again.

The author is an American economist, who had been acting as an adviser to Bernie Sanders and to the US Senate Budget committee. She is a Professor of economics and public policy and writes for Bloomberg, the New York Times, Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Until recently I had never heard of her but her cause was taken up by Richard Murphy in his ‘Tax Research’ blog and the publication of the book on 16 June 2020 1 was trailed as a big event. Reader, I bought the book and read it 2 immediately.

What caught my eye in progressing through the book was the presence of Wynne Godley – a name probably familiar to readers of a certain age. Kelton pays tribute to him for essentially teaching her the outlines of his theory which now bolsters her book. Godley’s theory is contained in a book of his published first in 2006 but ...

https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/free/lobster80/lob80-deficit-myth.pdf
 
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