Grand Mal Economics
Industrial market economies have been suffering from periodic financial crises, followed by high unemployment, at least since the Panic of 1825, so we have had nearly two centuries since then to figure out how to deal with them. Why, then, have governments and central banks failed this time around?
BERKELEY – Across the North Atlantic region, central bankers and governments seem, for the most part, helpless in restoring full employment to their economies. Europe has slipped back into recession without ever really recovering from the financial/sovereign-debt crisis that began in 2008. The United States’ economy is currently growing at 1.5% per year (about a full percentage point less than potential), and growth may slow, owing to a small fiscal contraction this year.
BERKELEY – Across the North Atlantic region, central bankers and governments seem, for the most part, helpless in restoring full employment to their economies. Europe has slipped back into recession without ever really recovering from the financial/sovereign-debt crisis that began in 2008. The United States’ economy is currently growing at 1.5% per year (about a full percentage point less than potential), and growth may slow, owing to a small fiscal contraction this year.