Robert A. Blecker Professor Economics
- Additional Positions at AU
- Affiliated Faculty, School of International Service (SIS)
- Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS)
- 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
- AU Department of Econcomics
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Fall 2024
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ECON-671 International Economics: Trade
Spring 2025
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ECON-811 Macro Political Economy
Partnerships & Affiliations
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Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
Research Associate -
Forum for Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policies (FMM)
Fellow
Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities
Work In Progress
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“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)
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“Kaldorian Growth Models,” draft chapter for Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, 2nd edition, edited by Mark Setterfield, forthcoming, 2024. New chapter for 2nd edition.
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“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, 2nd edition, edited by Mark Setterfield, forthcoming, 2024. Revised & updated chapter.
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“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, FMM Working Paper No. 75, 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
- “U.S.-Mexico: Trump’s Misguided Approach to NAFTA Renegotiation,” AULA Blog, AU Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS), May 11, 2018.
- “Trump Is a Protectionist – But Who Is He Protecting?“ Jacobin Magazine (online), Mar. 20, 2018. [about the steel tariffs]
- “Trumping the NAFTA Renegotiation: 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.
- “NAFTA Renegotiation: An Alternative Approach 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.
- “Trump’s ‘America First’ Strategy for NAFTA Talks Won’t Benefit US Workers,” 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).
- “How Important is the Real Exchange Rate for Exports and Growth?” 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.)
- "The Basic (Neo) Kaleckian Model," 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 video and the slideshow 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 video of my presentation and you can download my slides in a pdf file.
Honors and Awards
- Honorable Mention for the William M. LeoGrande Award for the best book or article in Latin American or Latino Studies published by a member of the American University community for my 2022 book chapter, “Mexico: Unequal Integration and ‘Stabilizing Stagnation,’” awarded jointly by the AU Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS) and School of Public Affairs (SPA), May 2023.
- Named a Fellow of the Forum for Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policy (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
- Heterodox Macroeconomics: Models of Demand, Distribution and Growth (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), https://doi.org/10.4337/ejeep.2023.0099.
- “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, https://doi.org/10.4337/roke.2023.03.07.
- “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, https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2022.2085880.
- “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, https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12463.
- “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, https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beab052.
- “The Rebranded NAFTA: Will the USMCA Achieve the Goals of the Trump Administration for North American Trade?” Norteamérica, vol. 16, no. 2 (July-December 2021), 289–315. https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2021.2.516.
- “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, https://doi.org/10.4337/roke.2021.02.02.
- "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.
- “Interview with Robert A. Blecker: 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.
- “The Debate over ‘Thirlwall's Law’: Balance-of-Payments-Constrained Growth Reconsidered,” European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 13, no. 3 (December 2016), 275-290.
- “Wage-led versus Profit-led Demand Regimes: The Long and the Short of It,” Review of Keynesian Economics, vol. 4, no. 4 (2016), 373-390.
- “The US Economy Since the Crisis: Slow Recovery and Secular Stagnation,” European Journal of Economics and Economic Policy: Intervention, vol. 13, no. 2 (September 2016), 203-214.
- “Structural Change, the Real Exchange Rate and the Balance of Payments in Mexico, 1960-2012,” co-authored with Carlos A. Ibarra, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 40, no. 2 (March 2016), 507-539.
- “Trade Liberalization and the Balance of Payments Constraint with Intermediate Imports: The Case of Mexico Revisited,” co-authored with Carlos A. Ibarra, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, vol. 25, no. 1 (June 2013), 33-47.
- “Stolper-Samuelson Revisited: Trade and Distribution with Oligopolistic Profits,” 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., Handbook of Economic Stagnation, London: Academic Press/ Elsevier, 2022, pp. 225-249.
- “International Trade and Development,” in Louis-Philippe Rochon and Sergio Rossi, eds., An Introduction to Macroeconomics: A Heterodox Approach to Economic Analysis, 2nd 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., The Trump Paradox: Migration, Trade, and Racial Politics in US-Mexico Integration, 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., Economic Growth and Macroeconomic Stabilization Policies in Post-Keynesian Economics: 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., Handbook of International Trade Agreements: Country, Regional and Global Approaches, Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2019, pp. 147-65.
- "Integration, Productivity, and Inclusion in Mexico: A Macro Perspective," 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.
- "Long-Run Growth in Open Economies: Export-Led Cumulative Causation or a Balance-of-Payments Constraint?" in Handbook of Post Keynesian Economics, Vol. I, edited by Geoffrey Harcourt and Peter Kriesler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
- “Global Imbalances and the U.S. Trade Deficit,” 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.
- "Trade and the Development Gap" (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.
- "Open Economy Models of Growth and Distribution," in A Modern Guide to Keynesian Macroeconomics and Economic Policies, edited by Eckhard Hein and Engelbert Stockhammer. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2011. Mathematical Appendix
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.