Yves Smith — Beyond Debt and Growth: An Interview with Robert Pollin

As readers likely recall, Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash, and Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst wrote a paper, “Does High Public Debt Consistently Stifle Economic Growth? A Critique of Reinhart and Rogoff,” which revealed serious methodological problems with one of the linchpin papers used to justify cutting government spending even in times of recession. Nevertheless, Reinhart and Rogoff have been trying to salvage what they can by claiming they never said the relationship between high deficit levels and their claim of serious economic damage was causal. The interview that we’ve republished includes a box that shows that, au contraire, Rogoff did in fact did push the austerity line. 

Naked Capitalism
Beyond Debt and Growth: An Interview with Robert Pollin
Yves Smith

Caught again. Reputations shredded.