Kalecki on Budget Deficits and the Possibilities for Full Employment

This paper revisits the writings of Michal Kalecki which relate to issues of fiscal policy, budget deficits and securing full employment in capitalist economies. It seeks to relate those writings to the recent fiscal policy debates after the global financial crises. It covers the issues of the financing and funding of public expenditure and private expenditure. The relationship between the scale of budget deficit and the achievement of full employment is considered. Kalecki’s approach to the ‘burden’ of debt is elaborated. The social and political constraints on the achievement of full employment are revisited.