Keynesian Comparative Economics: The Iconoclastic Vision of Lynn Turgeon (1920-1999)

The authors of this article review the late E. Lynn Turgeon's contributions to economics, including his studies of the Soviet economy, use of qualitative and demographic analyses, his Keynesian critique of U.S. economic performance, and his critique of international financial markets. Turgeon's comparative approach led to unique insights about the challenges that confronted planned economies, including the differential impact of military spending on the demand-constrained economy of the United States and the supply-constrained economy of the Soviet Union. His study of the Soviet and planned economies also informed his analysis of the U.S. economy and international adjustment mechanisms. Turgeon argued for expansionary fiscal and neutral monetary policies, prudential restrictions on portfolio capital flows, and increased foreign direct investment and foreign assistance to shift the burdens of adjustment from deficit to surplus countries. Throughout his career, Turgeon measured economic policies by their effects on real people, including impacts on employment, the environment, living standards, and distributions of income and wealth.