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“Too Bad to Be True” : Swedish Economists on Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace and German Reparations, 1919–29

Carlson, Benny LU and Jonung, Lars LU (2024) p.99-129
Abstract
This chapter examines the response of five prominent Swedish economists, David Davidson, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Knut Wicksell and Bertil Ohlin, to John Maynard Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace and to the German reparations in the 1920s. When Keynes’s book appeared, Davidson and Cassel strongly endorsed it. Heckscher also agreed with Keynes in a long review entitled “Too Bad to Be True”. Inspired by his Malthusian view, Wicksell found the reparations feasible if only German population growth was arrested. The contacts between the Swedes and Keynes became close after Keynes’s book, in particular between Cassel and Keynes. The exchange of views took a new turn when Bertil Ohlin responded to an article by Keynes in The... (More)
This chapter examines the response of five prominent Swedish economists, David Davidson, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Knut Wicksell and Bertil Ohlin, to John Maynard Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace and to the German reparations in the 1920s. When Keynes’s book appeared, Davidson and Cassel strongly endorsed it. Heckscher also agreed with Keynes in a long review entitled “Too Bad to Be True”. Inspired by his Malthusian view, Wicksell found the reparations feasible if only German population growth was arrested. The contacts between the Swedes and Keynes became close after Keynes’s book, in particular between Cassel and Keynes. The exchange of views took a new turn when Bertil Ohlin responded to an article by Keynes in The Economic Journal in 1929 on the transfer problem. The famous Keynes–Ohlin discussion laid the foundation for the analysis of the transfer problem, bringing Ohlin international recognition. We also trace how Davidson, Cassel and Heckscher changed their appreciation of Keynes in the 1930s with the publication of the General Theory while Ohlin viewed the message of Keynes in the 1930s as consistent with the policy views of the Stockholm school of economics. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
John Maynard Keynes, David Davidson, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Knut Wicksell, Bertil Ohlin, Treaty of Versailles, reparations, the transfer problem, Malthusianism, World War I
host publication
Keynes's Economic Consequences of the Peace after 100 Years : Polemics and Policy - Polemics and Policy
editor
Clavin, Patricia ; Corsetti, Giancarlo ; Obstfeld, Maurice ; Tooze, Adam and Piner, Catherine
pages
30 pages
publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISBN
978-1-009-40751-9
DOI
10.1017/9781009407540.006
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8010c6b1-bed3-4ffd-a1d3-391e05db3378
date added to LUP
2024-04-11 16:09:06
date last changed
2024-04-12 09:01:28
@inbook{8010c6b1-bed3-4ffd-a1d3-391e05db3378,
  abstract     = {{This chapter examines the response of five prominent Swedish economists, David Davidson, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Knut Wicksell and Bertil Ohlin, to John Maynard Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace and to the German reparations in the 1920s. When Keynes’s book appeared, Davidson and Cassel strongly endorsed it. Heckscher also agreed with Keynes in a long review entitled “Too Bad to Be True”. Inspired by his Malthusian view, Wicksell found the reparations feasible if only German population growth was arrested. The contacts between the Swedes and Keynes became close after Keynes’s book, in particular between Cassel and Keynes. The exchange of views took a new turn when Bertil Ohlin responded to an article by Keynes in The Economic Journal in 1929 on the transfer problem. The famous Keynes–Ohlin discussion laid the foundation for the analysis of the transfer problem, bringing Ohlin international recognition. We also trace how Davidson, Cassel and Heckscher changed their appreciation of Keynes in the 1930s with the publication of the General Theory while Ohlin viewed the message of Keynes in the 1930s as consistent with the policy views of the Stockholm school of economics.}},
  author       = {{Carlson, Benny and Jonung, Lars}},
  booktitle    = {{Keynes's Economic Consequences of the Peace after 100 Years : Polemics and Policy}},
  editor       = {{Clavin, Patricia and Corsetti, Giancarlo and Obstfeld, Maurice and Tooze, Adam and Piner, Catherine}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-009-40751-9}},
  keywords     = {{John Maynard Keynes; David Davidson; Gustav Cassel; Eli Heckscher; Knut Wicksell; Bertil Ohlin; Treaty of Versailles; reparations; the transfer problem; Malthusianism; World War I}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{99--129}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  title        = {{“Too Bad to Be True” : Swedish Economists on Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace and German Reparations, 1919–29}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781009407540.006}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/9781009407540.006}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}