The economic policy debate in Washington has come down to a boxing match between two opposing remedies – with “stimulus” in one corner and “austerity” in the other. Unfortunately, considering each so-called solution in isolation has hampered both analysis and decision-making. The proponents of stimulus argue that the losses in aggregate demand following the global financial crisis must be reversed. Their opponents say that austerity is needed to restore fiscal sustainability. But to understand how elements of each fit together, a different approach is needed, one that “connects the dots” and integrates the sets of economic logic and data employed by the two sides.
華盛頓的經濟政策辯論已經演變成兩種對立療法——刺激與緊縮——的「拳擊賽」。遺憾的是，孤立地考慮其中任一種「解決方案」的做法妨礙了分析和決策。刺激政策的支持者認爲，全球金融危機發生後總需求減少的局面必須扭轉。反對者則說，爲了恢復財政可持續性，必須實行緊縮政策。然而，要理解兩種解決方案的要素如何能夠結合在一起，有必要採取一種不同的做法,「把各個點連綴起來」，並結合雙方陣營採用的經濟理論和數據。