(New York, NY - March 21, 2005) New School University’s Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science will host an economics conference on “Franco Modigliani and the Keynesian Legacy” on April 14 and 15, 2005 in memory of Nobel-winning economist and New School alumnus Franco Modigliani (1918 - 2003). Modigliani was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1985. Nobel laureates Lawrence Klein, Robert Mundell, Joseph Stiglitz, and Robert M. Solow are among the speakers at the conference. The conference, which is free and open to the public, has been supported by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at New School University. For further information, call (212) 229-5901, ext. 4907 or visit http://www.newschool.edu/cepa/conferences/index.htm.
Franco Modigliani’s death in September 2003 deprived the economics profession of one of its most accomplished practitioners—an outstanding theorist who made significant contributions to the design of policies for improving the economic wellbeing. Modigliani, a refugee from Mussolini’s fascist regime, received his doctorate from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research (now New School University) in 1944, with a dissertation that provided an important cornerstone of the postwar Keynesian economics. Modigliani’s career bridges two worlds - mainstream neoclassical economics and the progressive tradition associated with the Graduate Faculty. His contributions profoundly influenced macroeconomic policy debates and helped to shape economists’ understanding of saving, growth and the behavior of monetary and financial markets. The conference will explore Modigliani’s contributions to Keynesian economics, his efforts to forge a bridge between the Keynesian and neoclassical traditions, and the influence of the German-speaking social scientists of the University in Exile (later to become New School University’s Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science) on the formation of his work.
Speakers will include: Harald Hagemann (Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart), Lawrence Klein (University of Pennsylvania), Robert Mundell (Columbia University), Edward J. Nell (New School University), Thomas I. Palley (U.S. - China Security Review Commission), Luigi L. Pasinetti (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan), Robert M. Solow (MIT), Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University), and Richard Sutch (University of California, Riverside).
The conference will open on the afternoon of Thursday, April 14, 2005 with a roundtable session on “Modigliani and Keynesian Economics.”
On Friday, April 15, 2005, the conference will feature presentations on “Keynesian Thought and the New School Tradition” and “Modigliani and Monetary Aspects of Keynesian Economics” (Policy). New School University President Bob Kerrey will discuss “Prospects for Keynesian Policy” during a lunchtime discussion, followed by a panel on “Consumption, Distribution and Growth.”
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About the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science
The Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science awards M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology, Economics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. In addition, interdisciplinary M.A. programs are offered in Historical Studies and Liberal Studies. Teaching and research, which derive from a progressive political tradition, are grounded in the core social sciences and broadened with a commitment to philosophical and historical inquiry. The Graduate Faculty has an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students. International students comprise nearly 30% of the student body and come from about 70 different countries. Benjamin Lee is Dean of the Graduate Faculty. For further information on the Graduate Faculty, call (212) 229-5777 or visit the Web site at www.newschool.edu/gf.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2005
New School University, Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue, NYC
2:30 - 5:00 p.m.
“Modigliani and Keynesian Economics I”
Robert Solow (MIT): Modigliani and Monetarism
Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University): Modigliani, the Modigliani-Miller Theorem and Macroeconomics
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2005
New School University, Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th Street, 5th Floor, NYC
9:00 - 10:45 a.m.
Panel I: “Keynesian Thought and the New School Tradition”
Chair: Perry Mehrling (Barnard College)
Harald Hagemann (Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart): The Influence of Jacob Marschak, Adolph Lowe, and Hans Neisser on the Formation of Franco Modigliani's work.
Luigi L. Pasinetti (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan): How Keynesian Was Franco Modigliani?
11:15 - 1:00 p.m.
Panel II: “Modigliani and Monetary Aspects of Keynesian Economics”
Chair: Jeff Madrick (Challenge magazine, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis).
Richard Sutch (University of California, Riverside): The Great Depression in the U.S. and the ‘Liquidity Trap’ à la Modigliani.
Robert Mundell (Columbia University)
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Luncheon and Discussion -
"The Prospects for Keynesian Policy" moderated by Bob Kerrey (President, New School University, and former U.S. Senator from Nebraska).
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Panel III: “Consumption, Distribution and Growth”
Lawrence Klein (University of Pennsylvania): Aggregate Consumption in the Post-War Period: Evaluating the Life Cycle Hypothesis.
Thomas I. Palley (U.S. - China Security Review Commission) Consumption, Income Distribution and Macroeconomic Theory
Edward J. Nell (New School University)
The conference is free and open to the public. For further information, call (212) 229-5901, ext. 4907 or visit: http://www.newschool.edu/cepa/conferences