16/01/03 18:06:37.41 6Swt1QA+.net
3. There has been quite a lot of empirical work on fiscal policy since 2009,
and the preponderant conclusion of that work is that fiscal multipliers are
larger, not smaller, than under pre-crisis conditions. If you want to
disagree with that work, OK, but explain why — a tossed-off remark won’t cut it.
The thing is, this matters — a lot. If fiscal policy is as effective as ever,
if not more so, then austerity policies did immense damage, and we really
need to be ready to do stimulus in the next downturn. But that has no chance
of taking place if even economists who should be well-informed just make up
a policy history that never happened.