Dr. Robert Barro, Harvard Economist, reports on the unflattering results of Keynsian economic policies here and abroad. From todays WSJ:
The weak economic recovery in the U.S. and the even weaker performance in much of Europe have renewed calls for ending budget austerity and returning to larger fiscal deficits. Curiously, this plea for more fiscal expansion fails to offer any proof that Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries that chose more budget stimulus have performed better than those that opted for more austerity. Similarly, in the American context, no evidence is offered that past U.S. budget deficits (averaging 9% of GDP between 2009 and 2011) helped to promote the economic recovery.
Two interesting European cases are Germany and Sweden, each of which moved toward rough budget balance between 2009 and 2011 while sustaining comparatively strong growth—the average growth rate per year of real GDP for 2010 and 2011…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Oct 21, 2014 @ 11:54:32
wow, he misses out on Estomia and Ireland or Spain or Greece all of whom used austerity and gained depressions. A fall of 10% or more in GDP.
He deliberately avoids using IMF or EC date which shows just ho much Austerity policies reduced GDP
Barro still has got it I see.
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Oct 21, 2014 @ 11:56:31
Ireland ran a deficit of 29% of GDP. that is not austerity.
Spain has terrible labour laws.
Greece is a third world country.
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Oct 21, 2014 @ 13:03:24
Jim Ireland’s fiscal policy took 5 and half percentage points off GDP which is why it had a depression.
Labour laws do not create depressions and depressions hit 1st and 3rd world countries.
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Oct 21, 2014 @ 13:13:22
Cahuc et al. 2012 estimated that Spanish unemployment would be 45% lower if Spain adopted the less strict French laws!
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Oct 22, 2014 @ 12:54:13
I do not disagree but that has nothing to do whether stimulus spending works or not. it is Barro V OECD, IMF et al
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