David Cameron, the UK prime minister, states that “red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy”. The lights are not as red as in 2008. Nevertheless, the difficulties caused by the fiscal austerity that his government recommends have become particularly evident in Japan and the eurozone. These stagnant high-income economies are the weakest links in the world economy. To understand why, one needs to analyse today’s most important economic illness: chronic demand deficiency syndrome.
英國首相大衛•卡麥隆(David Cameron)聲稱,「在全球經濟的儀表板上,紅色警示燈又亮了起來」。這次信號燈沒有2008時那樣紅。然而,財政緊縮——卡麥隆政府也提出實施緊縮政策——引起的困難在日本和歐元區表現得特別明顯。這兩個停滯的高收入經濟體是全球經濟中最薄弱的環節。要理解箇中緣由,有必要分析當前經濟中最重要的病症:慢性需求不足綜合徵。