The Two Monetary Approaches to the Balance of Payments: Keynesian and Johnsonian

August 1, 2001

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

J. J. Polak The Two Monetary Approaches to the Balance of Payments: Keynesian and Johnsonian, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2001) accessed November 21, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper emphasizes the distinction between two ‘monetary approaches to the balance of payments’, one developed in the IMF, the other under the leadership of Harry Johnson in Chicago. The IMF approach is presented as an evolutionary development of the Kahn/Keynes multiplier model in an open economy. Johnson’s approach is anti-Keynesian and self-proclaimed revolutionary. It posits the ‘essentially monetary character’ of the balance of payments. The IMF model tests satisfactorily as an explanation of income and imports over time. The long-run equilibrium approach of the Chicago model precludes statistical testing, and its short-run tests prove statistically meaningless.

Subject: Credit, Demand for money, Imports, International trade, Monetary base, Money, National accounts, Personal income

Keywords: Balance of payments, Balance of payments equation, Balance of payments position, Balance-of-payments effect, Credit, Demand for money, Extent credit creation, IMF, Imports, Interest rate, Monetarism, Monetary approach to the balance of payments, Monetary base, Money identity, Money income, Money supply, Personal income, Propagation period, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

26
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2001/100
Stock No:

WPIEA1002001
ISBN:

9781451852400
ISSN:

1018-5941

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