The developing recession in the United States

This article points out that the expansion of aggregate demand in the US during the nineties was structured in a highly unusual way. There was a progressive tightening of the fiscal stance, so growth had to be powered by a uniquely rapid growth of private expenditure in excess of disposable income....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wynne Godley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associazione Economia civile 2001-12-01
Series:PSL Quarterly Review
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/PSLQuarterlyReview/article/view/9954/9835
_version_ 1811202249828859904
author Wynne Godley
author_facet Wynne Godley
author_sort Wynne Godley
collection DOAJ
description This article points out that the expansion of aggregate demand in the US during the nineties was structured in a highly unusual way. There was a progressive tightening of the fiscal stance, so growth had to be powered by a uniquely rapid growth of private expenditure in excess of disposable income. This process was intrinsically unsustainable because it required very heavy borrowing, which caused a rise to record levels in debt/income ratios. If aggregate demand is to grow at an adequate rate in the medium term, there will have to be a large further fiscal relaxation. Yet fiscal policy alone cannot solve the problem because there has been a growing deficit in the balance of payments which will have to be corrected at some stage. The implications for the rest of the world of continued recession in the US could be very serious.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T02:36:49Z
format Article
id doaj.art-cb50161b103242ebabb243082a229677
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2037-3635
2037-3643
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T02:36:49Z
publishDate 2001-12-01
publisher Associazione Economia civile
record_format Article
series PSL Quarterly Review
spelling doaj.art-cb50161b103242ebabb243082a2296772022-12-22T03:51:32ZengAssociazione Economia civilePSL Quarterly Review2037-36352037-36432001-12-0154219417425The developing recession in the United StatesWynne GodleyThis article points out that the expansion of aggregate demand in the US during the nineties was structured in a highly unusual way. There was a progressive tightening of the fiscal stance, so growth had to be powered by a uniquely rapid growth of private expenditure in excess of disposable income. This process was intrinsically unsustainable because it required very heavy borrowing, which caused a rise to record levels in debt/income ratios. If aggregate demand is to grow at an adequate rate in the medium term, there will have to be a large further fiscal relaxation. Yet fiscal policy alone cannot solve the problem because there has been a growing deficit in the balance of payments which will have to be corrected at some stage. The implications for the rest of the world of continued recession in the US could be very serious.http://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/PSLQuarterlyReview/article/view/9954/9835ExpansionRecession
spellingShingle Wynne Godley
The developing recession in the United States
PSL Quarterly Review
Expansion
Recession
title The developing recession in the United States
title_full The developing recession in the United States
title_fullStr The developing recession in the United States
title_full_unstemmed The developing recession in the United States
title_short The developing recession in the United States
title_sort developing recession in the united states
topic Expansion
Recession
url http://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/PSLQuarterlyReview/article/view/9954/9835
work_keys_str_mv AT wynnegodley thedevelopingrecessionintheunitedstates
AT wynnegodley developingrecessionintheunitedstates