Read all posts from ‘Austerity: Less is More?’

Ever since the negative effects of the global economic crisis began to show in 2009, countries have nearly focused on patching budget deficits and reducing debt to retain “economic health”. But recently European Union leaders have begun to acknowledge that speedy  spending cuts could not be the magic solution for […]

What is the difference between austerity policies and the politics of austerity? At a time when Europe is pondering how to deal with its debt crisis problem, we look back at the experience of Latin America during the 1980s Latin American debt crisis. Understanding what happened then, and recognizing the advances in economics and government, may yield some lessons for Europe.

The choice between austerity and more spending looks like an intergenerational dilemma, and a good test to the ability of the humankind to think beyond a couple of years.