Non-Mainstream Economics in the USA

The chapter deals with the non-Mainstream economics in USA, represented by the Post Keynesians, the neo-Marxists and the Institutionalists. Firstly, the chapter examines the American Post Keynesian network and in particular Hyman Minsky’s analysis of the role of finance in the instabilities of the real economy, summarized in his “Financial Instability Hypothesis”. Then, the development of Neo-Marxism is examined, in the writings of Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy and principally the work they coauthored, Monopoly Capital, where a theoretical model of the monopoly capitalist system based on the study of the United States is presented. Lastly, the Institutionalist movement is analyzed, in particular Karl Polanyi’s work, which gave rise to a peculiar renaissance of Institutionalism at Columbia University.