Fiscal and Monetary Policies During the Great Recession: A Critical Evaluation

This paper discusses the fiscal and monetary policies that were adopted by the crisis countries. It challenges the commonly held view that the countries followed policies of 'austerity'. It shows that in most countries there was far less reduction of public spending than reported or believed. This paper argues that the fiscal and monetary policies that were followed may have had damaging repercussions on private investment and private spending, because of their impact on psychology and on uncertainty. This paper also questions the assumed benefits of the monetary policies followed, because of their negative impact on income distribution.