Keynes, Kuznets and Estimates of Investment (John Maynard Keynes, Simon Kuznets) (Essay‪)‬

Abstract: In The General Theory Keynes used data from an NBER study by Simon Kuznets to present gross and net capital formation for the United States. Keynes made a number of mistakes in doing so. In Keynes's Collected Writings it is stated that the first draft of the note 'Fluctuations in net investment in the United States' that Keynes wrote to correct these mistakes has not survived. In this paper Keynes's first draft of this note is reconstructed from what appear to be the final two pages of the first draft and correspondence between Keynes and Kuznets. I Introduction