Focus on Stimulus, Not Austerity: Stiglitz

Interviews
CNBC

Governments should focus on stimulus rather than austerity in order to encourage business spending, Nobel Laureate and noted economist Joseph Stiglitz told CNBC Wednesday.

“We have to get the economy going before firms are going to invest,” said Stiglitz, who is also a Columbia University professor. “There is an idea somehow that when the government cuts back, the private sector will get confidence and that will lead to more spending. The fact is that the households in America and many other places around the world are burdened by debt, and business is not going to spend as long as government and exports and consumers are not spending.”