Already in March 2007, George Magnus, Senior Economic Advisor of UBS, wrote that the US economy was approaching a ‘Minsky moment’ (Magnus 2007a; see also Magnus 2007b, 2007c, 2007d). The definition was actually coined by Paul McCulley, a bond fund director at Pacific Investment Management Company, during the 1998 Russian crisis (Whalen 2007). Magnus was commented in several financial blogs, and the expression found its way into authoritative newspapers all over the globe. This chapter investigates the meaning of a Minsky moment in the ‘new’ configuration of capitalism since the mid-1990s. Hence we shall, first, give a general outline of Minsky’s thought and his Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH). Then, we shall clarify what are the true novelties of the current stage of capitalism. Finally, we shall suggest a reading of the latter along the lines of a partially redefined FIH.
Minsky in the ‘new' capitalism. The new clothes of the Financial Instability Hypothesis
Passarella M
2010-01-01
Abstract
Already in March 2007, George Magnus, Senior Economic Advisor of UBS, wrote that the US economy was approaching a ‘Minsky moment’ (Magnus 2007a; see also Magnus 2007b, 2007c, 2007d). The definition was actually coined by Paul McCulley, a bond fund director at Pacific Investment Management Company, during the 1998 Russian crisis (Whalen 2007). Magnus was commented in several financial blogs, and the expression found its way into authoritative newspapers all over the globe. This chapter investigates the meaning of a Minsky moment in the ‘new’ configuration of capitalism since the mid-1990s. Hence we shall, first, give a general outline of Minsky’s thought and his Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH). Then, we shall clarify what are the true novelties of the current stage of capitalism. Finally, we shall suggest a reading of the latter along the lines of a partially redefined FIH.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
