Cherchez la Firme. Redressing the Missing Meso Middle in Mainstream Economics

Aristotle warned against a ‘missing middle’ in logic (Gk Mesos – middle; intermediate). This paper submits that one of the reasons why there has been next no major breakthrough in macroeconomics since the financial crisis of 2007-2008 has been a missing middle in the micro-macro syntheses of mainstream economics, constrained by partial and general equilibrium premises. It proposes that transcending this needs recognition that large and multinational corporations between small micro firms and macro outcomes – yet also influencing both – merit the concept of mesoeconomics. Drawing on earlier applications of the concept, it relates this to reasons for ‘too big to fail’ and suggests implications for both research and policies to gain institutional accountability of global big business. It also offers an invitation to interested scholars to join a post-Keynesian and post-Marxian mesoeconomics research network.

This research paper was published on the website of the World Economics Association’s Economic Thought Journal.

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