John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes,CB, FBA (/ˈkeɪnz/ KAYNZ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. He built on and greatly refined earlier work on the causes of business cycles, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential economists of the 20th century and the founder of modern macroeconomics. His ideas are the basis for the school of thought known as Keynesian economics and its various offshoots.
In the 1930s, Keynes spearheaded a revolution in economic thinking, challenging the ideas of neoclassical economics that held that free markets would, in the short to medium term, automatically provide full employment, as long as workers were flexible in their wage demands. He instead argued that aggregate demand determined the overall level of economic activity and that inadequate aggregate demand could lead to prolonged periods of high unemployment. According to Keynesian economics, state intervention was necessary to moderate "boom and bust" cycles of economic activity. Keynes advocated the use of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the adverse effects of economic recessions and depressions. Following the outbreak of World War II, Keynes's ideas concerning economic policy were adopted by leading Western economies. In 1942, Keynes was awarded a hereditary peerage as Baron Keynes of Tilton in the County of Sussex. Keynes died in 1946; but, during the 1950s and 1960s, the success of Keynesian economics resulted in almost all capitalist governments adopting its policy recommendations.
The name Keynes is an anglicization of the Norman place-name Cahagnes, sometimes spelled Kahaignes in the Middle Ages. Its meaning is unclear.
Keynes may refer to the following:
9917 Keynes is a main belt asteroid. It orbits the Sun once every 3.65 years.
Discovered on June 26, 1979 by Carlos Torres at the Cerro El Roble Astronomical Station, it was given the provisional designation "1979 MK" and later named Keynes after British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). This choice of name may have been inspired by the provisional designation (MK).