Editing Keynesian economics (section)

===<span id="earlykeynes">Keynes's early writings</span>===
In 1923, Keynes published his first contribution to economic theory, ''[[A Tract on Monetary Reform]]'', whose point of view is classical but incorporates ideas that later played a part in the ''General Theory''. In particular, looking at the hyperinflation in European economies, he drew attention to the [[opportunity cost]] of holding money (identified with inflation rather than interest) and its influence on the [[Velocity of money|velocity of circulation]].<ref>Robert Dimand, ''The origins of the Keynesian revolution'', p. 7.</ref>

In 1930, he published ''[[A Treatise on Money]]'', intended as a broad treatment of its subject "which would confirm his stature as a serious academic scholar, rather than just as the author of stinging polemics",<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p. 23.</ref> and marks a large step in the direction of his later views. In it, he attributes unemployment to wage stickiness<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p31.</ref> and treats saving and investment as governed by independent decisions: the former varying positively with the interest rate,<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p. 36.</ref> the latter negatively.<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p35.</ref> The velocity of circulation is expressed as a function of the rate of interest.<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p. 38.</ref> He interpreted his treatment of liquidity as implying a purely monetary theory of interest.<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., p133.</ref>

Keynes's younger colleagues of the [[Cambridge Circus (economics)|Cambridge Circus]] and [[Ralph Hawtrey]] believed that his arguments implicitly assumed [[full employment]], and this influenced the direction of his subsequent work.<ref>Dimand, ''op. cit''., pp. 136–141.</ref> During 1933, he wrote essays on various economic topics "all of which are cast in terms of movement of output as a whole".<ref>Editorial introduction to the ''General Theory''  in Keynes's Collected Writings.</ref>