Debt, Innovations and Deflation: The Theories of Veblen, Fisher, Schumpeter and Minsky

In Debt, Innovations, and Deflation, the authors analyze the deflation theories of Thorstein Veblen, Irving Fisher, Joseph A. Schumpeter, and Hyman Minsky. In so doing, they develop a paradigm for understanding the phenomenon of deflation. They explain how technological, organizational, and financial innovations, combined with developments related to the creation and use of debt, give rise to conditions in which both deflation and inflation can be present in the modern economy.

The past several years have ushered in a new era in economic policy issues. After decades of concern over inflation, a series of studies brought to light the potentially greater danger of deflation. In response, the authors provide a critical re-examination of the literature and theories of deflation. A driving question behind the research is whether post-World War II capitalist economies rely on economic policies and institutional reforms to keep an inherent tendency toward deflation in check? And can the theories of Veblen, Fisher, Schumpeter and Minsky shed light on how the creation and use of debt can create a modern economy affected simultaneously by deflation and inflation?

Scholars and students of economic history and finance will enjoy this insightful examination of the subject.