Monetary Policy and Value Judgments : Did we forget Myrdal's legacy ?

Myrdal's works are usually analysed with a dual and separated point of view : on the one hand the methodological papers concerning the value problem and based on a strong non neutrality thesis ; on the other part the theoretical analysis concerning monetary theory and policy, with a Wicksellian filiation. In fact both the dimensions are strongly connected by a common way : the application of the Hägerström's Swedish guillotine between is and ought, but also the construction of a bridge between economic science and political views on social engineering and economic policy. Myrdal wants to address this problem : how economic science can become politically relevant ? This paper analyses two stages of that unique project : the proposition of a "technology of economics" (1930), and the selection process for a "norm for monetary policy" (1939). It shows that Myrdal distorts an initial end and means scheme by proposing some intermediary concepts between positive and normative fields. From a theoretical and statistical framework and an explicit value judgment these concepts enable to elaborate an iterative tree of selection of a speci-c monetary policy. If the Myrdal's project encounters difficulties in conciliating a non-cognitivist thesis with economic prescriptions and in proposing a tractable method, it remains an important benchmark for the analysis of the links between positive and normative views concerning monetary policy.

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Field Value
Source https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00952009
Author Barbaroux, Nicolas, Bellet, Michel
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 6, 2026, 05:54 (UTC)
Created May 6, 2026, 05:54 (UTC)
Identifier halshs-00952009
Language en
Rights https://about.hal.science/hal-authorisation-v1/
contributor Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne) ; École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) ; Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL) ; Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM) ; Université Jean Monnet (EPSCPE) (UJM EPE)-Université Jean Monnet (EPSCPE) (UJM EPE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
creator Barbaroux, Nicolas
date 2014-02-26T00:00:00
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harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2026-04-23T00:00:00
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