Political Aspects of ‘Buffer Stock’ Employment: A Reconsideration

27 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2020

See all articles by Peter Kriesler

Peter Kriesler

UNSW Australia Business School, School of Economics

joseph Halevi

Mcquarie University; Mcquarie University

Mark Setterfield

New School for Social Research

Date Written: August 20, 2020

Abstract

Advocates of Job Guarantee (JG) or Employer of Last Resort (ELR) schemes have suggested that if the state provides ‘buffer stock’ employment to workers displaced from private employment, then full employment can be maintained over the course of the business cycle. Kalecki was sceptical about the prospects for maintaining full employment in capitalist economies, without fundamental institutional change that would alleviate certain political constraints on the maintenance of full employment. We argue that in and of themselves, JG/ELR schemes do not create the fundamental institutional change required to address Kalecki’s concerns and so ensure that full employment becomes achievable as a permanent state.

Keywords: employer of last resort, job guarantee, buffer stock employment, political aspects of full employment

JEL Classification: E12, E61, J64, J68

Suggested Citation

Kriesler, Peter and Halevi, joseph and Setterfield, Mark, Political Aspects of ‘Buffer Stock’ Employment: A Reconsideration (August 20, 2020). UNSW Business School Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3678142 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3678142

Peter Kriesler

UNSW Australia Business School, School of Economics ( email )

High Street
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

Joseph Halevi

Mcquarie University ( email )

Macquarie University
Sydney, WY NSW
Australia

Mcquarie University ( email )

North Ryde
Sydney, New South Wales 2109
Australia

Mark Setterfield (Contact Author)

New School for Social Research ( email )

6 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
United States

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