  As humanity is becoming increasingly confronted by Earth's finite biophysical
limits, there is increasing interest in questions about the stability and
equitability of a zero-growth capitalist economy, most notably: if one
maintains a positive interest rate for loans, can a zero-growth economy be
stable? This question has been explored on a few different macroeconomic
models, and both `yes' and `no' answers have been obtained. However, economies
can become unstable whether or not there is ongoing underlying growth in
productivity with which to sustain growth in output. Here we attempt, for the
first time, to assess via a model the relative stability of growth versus
no-growth scenarios. The model employed draws from Keen's model of the Minsky
financial instability hypothesis. The analysis focuses on dynamics as opposed
to equilibrium, and scenarios of growth and no-growth of output (GDP) are
obtained by tweaking a productivity growth input parameter. We confirm that,
with or without growth, there can be both stable and unstable scenarios. To
maintain stability, firms must not change their debt levels or target debt
levels too quickly. Further, according to the model, the wages share is higher
for zero-growth scenarios, although there are more frequent substantial drops
in employment.
