Professor

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Robert A. Blecker Professor Economics

Additional Positions at AU
Degrees: PhD and MA, Economics, Minor in Political Science, Stanford University
Graduate Studies in Economics, Centro de Estudios Economicos y Demograficos, El Colegio de Mexico
AB, Economics, Yale University
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish
Bio: Professor Blecker’s research interests include international trade, open economy macroeconomics, global trade imbalances, economic integration in North America, the Mexican economy, the limits to export-led growth strategies in developing countries, and U.S. trade policy. His teaching fields include international economics, macroeconomics, history of economic thought, and political economy.

See Also
For the Media: To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.; AU Experts

Teaching

Fall 2024

ECON-671 International Economics: Trade

Spring 2025

ECON-811 Macro Political Economy

Partnerships & Affiliations

Research Associate
Fellow

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Work In Progress

“United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA)” (co-authored with Walter J. Ankner), in Matías Vernengo, Esteban Pérez Caldentey, and Jayati Ghosh, eds., The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, draft for online living reference and new print edition (London: Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2027)
“Kaldorian Growth Models,” draft chapter for Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, 2^nd edition, edited by Mark Setterfield, forthcoming, 2024. New chapter for 2^nd edition.
“Export-led Growth, Real Exchange Rates and the Fallacy of Composition” (coauthored with Arslan Razmi), draft chapter for Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, 2^nd edition, edited by Mark Setterfield, forthcoming, 2024. Revised & updated chapter.
“The Balance of Payments and Exchange Rates: Why Are They Important?” forthcoming in Intermediate Macroeconomics: Theory, Policy and Competing Perspectives, edited by Hassan Bougrine, Louis-Philippe Rochon, and Mario Seccareccia, 2024.
“Structural Change in the US Phillips Curve, 1948-2021: The Role of Power and Institutions” (co-authored with Mark Setterfield), Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, , February 2022.
“Sluggish Capital Accumulation with a Rising Profit Share: Four Hypotheses for the Mexican Economy” (co-authored with Carlos A. Ibarra), draft chapter for book in memory of Jaime Ros, to be edited by Amitava K. Dutt, Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Nora Lustig, and José Antonio Ocampo, May 2020.

Policy Papers, Blogs, and Op Eds

“,”��AULA Blog, AU Center for Latin �鶹��ý and Latino Studies (CLALS), May 11, 2018.
““ Jacobin Magazine (online), Mar. 20, 2018.��[about the steel tariffs]
“: An Alternative Policy Framework for Mexican-United States Cooperation and Economic Convergence” (co-authored with Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid and Isabel Salat), UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC Subheadquarters in Mexico, LC/MEX/TS.2017/29, November 2017.
“ to Foster Upward Economic Convergence (co-authored with Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid and Isabel Salat), WEA Commentaries, online newsletter, vol. 7, no. 5 (October 2017), pp. 2-6.
“,” The Conversation, July 27, 2017, online op ed.

Speeches, Interviews, and Videos

Lecture on, “Kaldorian Growth Theory: Cumulative Insights and Emerging Limitations,” 5th International Workshop on Demand-led Growth, Instituto de Economia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, July 2024 (in person).
“” Presentation prepared for the 26th FMM Conference, Berlin, Germany, October 2022. (The link is to the slideshow; I was unable to attend due to personal reasons.)
"," Poznań (Virtual) Conference on Kalecki and Kaleckian Economics, Fundacja Lipińskiego (Lipińsky Foundation) and Review of Political Economy, September 25, 2020.
Introductory Lecture, “An Introduction to Post-Keynesian Theories of Distribution and Growth: Alternative Models and Empirical Findings,” FMM/IMK Conference, “10 Years After the Crash: What Have We Learned?,” Berlin, Germany, October 2018. These links will take you directly to the and the of my lecture.
Speech on “The US Economy After the Crisis: Slow Recovery or Secular Stagnation?” FMM/IMK Conference on “The Spectre of Stagnation? Europe in the World Economy,” Berlin, Germany, October 2015. You can watch the and you can download my .

Honors and Awards

Honorable Mention for the William M. LeoGrande Award for the best book or article in Latin �鶹��ý or Latino Studies published by a member of the �鶹��ý community for my 2022 book chapter, “Mexico: Unequal Integration and ‘Stabilizing Stagnation,’” awarded jointly by the AU Center for Latin �鶹��ý and Latino Studies (CLALS) and School of Public Affairs (SPA), May 2023.
Named a Fellow of the (FMM), 2018.
AU Faculty Award for Outstanding Service to the University Community, 2014.
AU Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in a Full-time Appointment, 2005.

Selected Publications

Books

��(co-authored with Mark Setterfield), Cheltenham, UK, and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2019. Errata sheet

Journal Articles

“How Important is the Real Exchange Rate for Exports and Growth?” European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 20, no. 2 (July 2023), 250-265 (open access), .
“On Empirical Tests of Thirlwall’s Law: A Reply to Professor McCombie’s Rejoinder,” Review of Keynesian Economics, vol. 11, no. 3 (July 2023), 416-426, .
“Feminist Perspectives on Care and Macroeconomic Modeling: Introduction to the Special Issue” (co-authored with Elissa Braunstein), Feminist Economics, vol. 28, no. 3 (2022), 1-22, .
“New Advances and Controversies in the Framework of Balance-of-Payments-Constrained Growth,” Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 36, no. 2 (April 2022), 429–467, .
“Systems Estimation of a Structural Model of Distribution and Demand in the US Economy” (co-authored with Michael Cauvel and YK Kim), Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 46, no. 2 (March 2022), 391–420, .
“The Rebranded NAFTA: Will the USMCA Achieve the Goals of the Trump Administration for North �鶹��ý Trade?” ��ǰ��ٱ𲹳�é��, vol. 16, no. 2 (July-December 2021), 289–315. .
“Thirlwall’s Law is Not a Tautology, But Some Empirical Tests of It Nearly Are,” Review of Keynesian Economics, vol. 9, no. 2 (Summer 2021), 175–203, .
"On Multi-Sector and Multi-Technique Models, Production Functions and Goodwin Cycles: A Reply to Libman" (co-authored with Mark Setterfield), European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 17, no. 3 (November 2020), 295–306.
“: People will come searching for us post-Keynesians if the political atmosphere is encouraging,” by Eckhard Hein and Marc Lavoie,��European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention,��vol. 15, no. 3 (November 2018), 250-258.
“: Balance-of-Payments-Constrained Growth Reconsidered,”��European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 13, no. 3 (December 2016), 275-290.
“: The Long and the Short of It,”��Review of Keynesian Economics, vol. 4, no. 4 (2016), 373-390.
“: Slow Recovery and Secular Stagnation,”��European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 13, no. 2 (September 2016), 203-214.
“,” co-authored with Carlos A. Ibarra, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 40, no. 2 (March 2016), 507-539.
“,”��co-authored with Carlos A. Ibarra, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, vol. 25, no. 1 (June 2013), 33-47.
“,”��Metroeconomica, vol. 63, no. 3 (July 2012), 569-598.

Book Chapters

“Mexico: Unequal Integration and ‘Stabilizing Stagnation,’” in L. Randall Wray and Flavia Dantas, eds., , London: Academic Press/ Elsevier, 2022, pp. 225-249.
“International Trade and Development,” in Louis-Philippe Rochon and Sergio Rossi, eds., , 2^nd edition. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2021, pp. 437-468.
“What Policies Make Sense in a U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal?” (co-authored with Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid and Isabel Salat), in Raul Hinojosa Ojeda and Edward Telles, eds., , Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2021, pp. 174-188.
“Long-term shifts in demand and distribution in neo-Kaleckian and neo-Goodwinian models,” in Hassan Bougrine and Louis-Philippe Rochon, eds., : Essays in Honour of Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia, Book Two. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2020,pp. 153-169.
“NAFTA,” in Robert E. Looney, ed.,��: Country, Regional and Global Approaches,��Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2019, pp. 147-65.
"," in Alejandro Foxley and Barbara Stallings, eds.,��Innovation and Inclusion in Latin America: Strategies to Avoid the Middle Income Trap, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 175-204.
"" in��Handbook of Post Keynesian Economics, Vol. I, edited by Geoffrey Harcourt and Peter Kriesler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
“,” in��After the Great Recession: The Struggle for Economic Recovery and Growth, edited by Barry Z. Cynamon, Steven M. Fazzari, and Mark Setterfield. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
"" (co-authored with Gerardo Esquivel), in��Mexico and the United States: The Politics of Partnership, edited by Peter H. Smith and Andrew Selee. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2013.
"," in��A Modern Guide to Keynesian Macroeconomics and Economic Policies, edited by Eckhard Hein and Engelbert Stockhammer. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2011.��

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

U.S. economy including the budget debate; international trade and finance; exchange rates, the U.S. trade deficit, global trade imbalances.

Additional Information

Blecker researches international trade, open economy macroeconomics, the value of the dollar and the U.S. trade deficit, economic integration in North America, the Mexican economy and the limits to export-led growth strategies in developing countries. His teaching areas include international economics, macroeconomics, history of economic thought, and political economy.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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Faculty Profile: Robert Blecker