Basile Clerc

2024-21

Basile Clerc

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Abstract: This paper contributes to the analysis of corporatism in post-World War II economic policies in France. Focusing on the “Comité National des Prix” (National Price Committee, CNP), in which employee and employer unions debate price-control decisions, we show that, despite appearances, this institution and, hence, price policy, cannot be considered a form of corporatism. Two elements support this thesis. First, decisions to freeze prices, which were particularly frequent in the 1950s, were systematically adopted despite the joint opposition of the two main trade unions: the CGT and the CNPF. Second, the "contractual turn" in pricing policy in the 1960s, inspired by corporatist thinking and reflections on "incomes policy", took place despite a structural opposition between employee and employer unions. The ambition of a "corporatist turn" in planning in the 1960s was thus thwarted by the persistence of major union antagonisms, as much as by the verticality of decision-making on pricing.
Mot(s) clé(s): Price control ; corporatism ; incomes policy

2024-11

Basile Clerc

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Abstract: Why do some economists support price controls in the face of inflation during peacetime? Our thesis is that, in the history of economic thought, understanding the role of profits in inflationary dynamics is the crucial variable. To demonstrate this, we investigate the extensive literature on incomes policy, insofar as much of the thinking on macroeconomic price controls in peacetime is part of this literature. This corpus is crossed by a major schism: some advocate price and wage controls while others limit control to wages alone. We show that the defense of price controls is always based on the thesis that profits play an autonomous role in inflationary dynamics. Conversely, the advocates of an incomes policy reduced to wage controls see margins as mere transmission belts for excessive wage increases into prices. Price controls are thus rejected ex ante, even before any criticism of the consequences of their application.
Mot(s) clé(s): Price controls - Wage controls - Incomes policy - Inflation - Unemployment

2024-8

Alexandre Chirat, Basile Clerc

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Abstract: The concept of a necessary transition to a "war economy" in response to the ecological crisis is gaining traction. However, this discussion often overlooks the fact that a war economy primarily relies on policies such as price controls and rationing, as exemplified by the United States' economy during World War II. Whether it's for wartime efforts or addressing climate urgency, both scenarios seem justifying the suspension of market mechanisms in key sectors to achieve production goals while mitigating the social costs of transition. Nonetheless, a significant disparity lies in the social acceptability of such political measures, which proves to be considerably more challenging to establish within the context of the climate and ecological crisis.
Mot(s) clé(s): Ecological transition - war economy - price controls

2023-4

Alexandre Chirat, Basile Clerc

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Abstract: This article proposes a historical and analytical reconstruction of a debate that never happened between John Kenneth Galbraith and Abba Lerner over the issue of price controls. While they adopted a similar analysis of underemployment inflation, shared by many post Keynesians, Lerner and Galbraith remained fundamentally opposed as to the effectiveness of price controls. Indeed, while both agreed on the relevance of price controls in the specific context of World War II, they disagreed over including price controls within the conventional framework of economic policies, as illustrated by their respective stances in the debate surrounding the stagflation of the 1970s. Throughout the paper, we provide the rationales behind their divergence on price controls by investigating its theoretical, epistemological, and normative roots. Finally, we put into perspective the contemporary debates about price control in the context of resurgent inflationary pressures with some salient points drawn from our reconstruction of the debate that opposed these two pioneering post Keynesians economists.
Mot(s) clé(s): Price control - Wage control - Inflation - Unemployment - Stagflation