In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (po... more In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (power) may dominate in the short term, but that “sooner or later, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil” (Keynes; 1936:384). This dissertation seeks to establish whether this is so, and to what extent, in the period 1919 to 1936, insofar as the shaping of monetary policy was concerned. The context that South Africa found itself in at the time was one in which Britain, the colonising power, was in economic decline. Britain’s real economy had lost its lead in the world in the late 1800s, and by our period, 1919 – 1936, she was now struggling to maintain her dominance of the world’s financial economy. South African gold flows to London, and a South African monetary policy supportive of British monetary policy, became more important than ever to Britain. On the back of its ascendant real economy, the United States of America was fast developing its financial s...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to highlight using international archives, the extent to wh... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to highlight using international archives, the extent to which America's attempts to anchor its increasingly dominant global economic power and specifically the struggle between London and New York as the centre of global finance, impacted on the nature and character of the monetary policy advice given by these two international experts, as evident in their work on the Kemmerer-Vissering Commission. We show that Kemmerer, a representative of the rising new global economic powerhouse, the United States of America, and Vissering, a representative of a far less significant global player, the Netherlands, also with somewhat closer historical ties to Britain, were in fact instruments of these global dynamics, as they went about their work on the Commission. This global aspect of the narrative of the Kemmerer-Vissering report has not been highlighted by previous research.
Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as... more Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as relevant today as it was remarkable then. It anticipates many of Keynes key ideas now better associated with his Treatise of Money, and his The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, as well as many of the central ideas of post-Keynesian economics. Issues such as the inherent instability of the banking and currency system and the importance of appropriate regulation to stabilise them, which Keynes addresses in ICF remain on the minds of analysts and policy makers today. It is a brilliant and prescient exposition by the young Keynes and is highly recommended to a contemporary readership.
Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB'... more Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB's establishment, 1921, was by no means a de facto independent country, being tied in important ways to Britain. However, by the end of the First World War, it was clear that ...
We argue in this paper that Keynes's focus shifted from an interest primarily in the world ec... more We argue in this paper that Keynes's focus shifted from an interest primarily in the world economy up until The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919), to one focused on the national economy in the 1920s and 1930s, as the world monetary and trade system was unable to deliver full employment to the various countries participating in it. Temin and Vines (2016) argue forcefully that Keynes was interested primarily in the world economy, and we seek in this article to present a view that emphasises Keynes's contribution to national economic policy. Keynes shifted his attention away from the international economic system when it failed to work effectively in the 1920s and 1930s, and towards this economic system in the period 1941–1944, when the time was right to rebuild it. Given the difficulties experienced by the current monetary system, particularly in Europe, we seek to show the value of Keynes's writing on the national economy in the 1920s and 1930s.
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that ‘money is created out of nothing’ and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB'... more Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB's establishment, 1921, was by no means a de facto independent country, being tied in important ways to Britain. However, by the end of the First World War, it was clear that ...
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that 'money is created out of nothing' and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that 'money is created out of nothing' and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as... more Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as relevant today as it was remarkable then. It anticipates many of Keynes key ideas now better associated with his Treatise of Money, and his The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, as well as many of the central ideas of post-Keynesian economics. Issues such as the inherent instability of the banking and currency system and the importance of appropriate regulation to stabilise them, which Keynes addresses in ICF remain on the minds of analysts and policy makers today. It is a brilliant and prescient exposition by the young Keynes and is highly recommended to a contemporary readership.
In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (po... more In the concluding paragraphs of Keynes’ General Theory, Keynes suggests that vested interests (power) may dominate in the short term, but that “sooner or later, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil” (Keynes; 1936:384). This dissertation seeks to establish whether this is so, and to what extent, in the period 1919 to 1936, insofar as the shaping of monetary policy was concerned. The context that South Africa found itself in at the time was one in which Britain, the colonising power, was in economic decline. Britain’s real economy had lost its lead in the world in the late 1800s, and by our period, 1919 – 1936, she was now struggling to maintain her dominance of the world’s financial economy. South African gold flows to London, and a South African monetary policy supportive of British monetary policy, became more important than ever to Britain. On the back of its ascendant real economy, the United States of America was fast developing its financial s...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to highlight using international archives, the extent to wh... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to highlight using international archives, the extent to which America's attempts to anchor its increasingly dominant global economic power and specifically the struggle between London and New York as the centre of global finance, impacted on the nature and character of the monetary policy advice given by these two international experts, as evident in their work on the Kemmerer-Vissering Commission. We show that Kemmerer, a representative of the rising new global economic powerhouse, the United States of America, and Vissering, a representative of a far less significant global player, the Netherlands, also with somewhat closer historical ties to Britain, were in fact instruments of these global dynamics, as they went about their work on the Commission. This global aspect of the narrative of the Kemmerer-Vissering report has not been highlighted by previous research.
Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as... more Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as relevant today as it was remarkable then. It anticipates many of Keynes key ideas now better associated with his Treatise of Money, and his The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, as well as many of the central ideas of post-Keynesian economics. Issues such as the inherent instability of the banking and currency system and the importance of appropriate regulation to stabilise them, which Keynes addresses in ICF remain on the minds of analysts and policy makers today. It is a brilliant and prescient exposition by the young Keynes and is highly recommended to a contemporary readership.
Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB'... more Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB's establishment, 1921, was by no means a de facto independent country, being tied in important ways to Britain. However, by the end of the First World War, it was clear that ...
We argue in this paper that Keynes's focus shifted from an interest primarily in the world ec... more We argue in this paper that Keynes's focus shifted from an interest primarily in the world economy up until The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919), to one focused on the national economy in the 1920s and 1930s, as the world monetary and trade system was unable to deliver full employment to the various countries participating in it. Temin and Vines (2016) argue forcefully that Keynes was interested primarily in the world economy, and we seek in this article to present a view that emphasises Keynes's contribution to national economic policy. Keynes shifted his attention away from the international economic system when it failed to work effectively in the 1920s and 1930s, and towards this economic system in the period 1941–1944, when the time was right to rebuild it. Given the difficulties experienced by the current monetary system, particularly in Europe, we seek to show the value of Keynes's writing on the national economy in the 1920s and 1930s.
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that ‘money is created out of nothing’ and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB'... more Abstract: Although enjoying some de jure independence, South Africa in the year of the SARB's establishment, 1921, was by no means a de facto independent country, being tied in important ways to Britain. However, by the end of the First World War, it was clear that ...
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that 'money is created out of nothing' and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within whic... more The view is often held that central banks have little or no connection to the society within which they exist, although their policy decisions impact directly on people, institutions and society. While this view has gained much attention in the media and in some academic circles, this article uses evidence from South Africa to show the fallacy of the view that 'money is created out of nothing' and that central banks are owned by and secretly controlled for the benefit of particular interest groups. Instead, it draws on insights in post-Keynesianism to demonstrate that the ownership of the South African Reserve Bank rests in the hands of private shareholders, but in an open and transparent manner, and that the Reserve Bank succeeds in ensuring that the system is supervised and sufficiently regulated in the public interest.
Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as... more Indian Currency and Finance (ICF), Keynes first book, remains 100 years after its publication, as relevant today as it was remarkable then. It anticipates many of Keynes key ideas now better associated with his Treatise of Money, and his The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, as well as many of the central ideas of post-Keynesian economics. Issues such as the inherent instability of the banking and currency system and the importance of appropriate regulation to stabilise them, which Keynes addresses in ICF remain on the minds of analysts and policy makers today. It is a brilliant and prescient exposition by the young Keynes and is highly recommended to a contemporary readership.
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Papers by Bradley Bordiss