[27] Note that this book quotes Keynes a lot, and in particular the 60 year old General Theory, and only refers to modern authors. Some readers might find this out of balance. However, in the light of the main argument, about the Trias Politica and the Economic Supreme Court, I found it rather natural to proceed like this. I think that it emphasises the enduring quality of economics per se. That, admittedly, is a matter of taste.
[28] Robert Kuttner, “Peddling Krugman”, American Prospect, 9.96 gives a nice example: “(…) Joseph Stiglitz, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and author of a recent report that, in very delicate wording, computed that most newly created jobs were in occupations or industries that had historically paid “above median wages.” This, of course, did not mean that the newly created jobs actually paid above-median wages. Stiglitz, threading his way between the administration’s need to paint a rosy election-year picture and his own professional integrity, allowed as much.” See http://members.home.net/copernicus/28kutt.html
[29] Note that labour could (actually should) be aggregated with wage weights, but this normally isn’t done.
[30] Keynes and Tinbergen were both first-borns. Sulloway’s theory suggests that Keynes’s General Theory is a ‘conservative revolution’. It gave a theoretical base to existing ideas, helping save capitalism from the communist threat. Similar for Tinbergen. Tinbergen’s brother Nico had more radical ideas about ethology. Such interpretations are hazy of course.
[31] With the necessary proviso that they will not easily sail over the edge of the world.
[32] Taken from Craig Marcott’s site, who refers to Pigou (1932) “The economics of welfare” 4th ed. Macmillan 1932; preface. His site is also advisable for his applications of Mathematica to economics: http://milkweed.econ.stthomas.edu/~csmarcot/index.html.
[33] See chapter 34 on the notion of a ‘moral imperative’.
[34] This analysis is taken from Colignatus (1990a) and (1994a), and since then more years have past. CPB researchers Broer c.s. (1999) recently write: “The high level of unemployment in OECD Europe remains one of the puzzles of empirical macroeconomics. (…) This is somewhat surprising in view of the considerable policy effort that has been made (…) ” See the OECD site: http://www.oecd.org around 1999-2000 contains such data on stagnation and slow improvement. One assumes the same in 2004.
[35] Taxes in this book are generally inclusive of welfare state premiums.
[36] Data: US Bureau of Labor Statistics and The Netherlands Central Planning Bureau. The US is more useful here than Europe, since it has consistent time series on a single economy.