Lawrence H. Summers

Look at Japan, where gross domestic product today is less than two-thirds of what most observers predicted a generation ago, even though interest rates have been at zero for many years. It is worth emphasizing that Japanese GDP was less disappointing in the five years after the bubbles burst at the end of the 1980s than the US GDP has since 2008.

There is increasing concern that we may be in an era of secular stagnation in which there is insufficient investment demand to absorb all the financial savings done by households and corporations, even with interest rates so low as to risk financial bubbles. Raising demand through greater infrastructure investment is an antidote for such malaise as well as a source of better employment and economic growth.
We live in an ever more interdependent and competitive world. Savings can flow into any country. The fruits of research and development flow globally. Many iconic American companies now earn less than half their profits in the United States.
But one thing that is inherently immobile is our infrastructure. When we put money into strengthening our infrastructure, essentially all of what we spend stays in the United States. Once in place, all the benefits of the infrastructure go to Americans.

2 thoughts on “Lawrence H. Summers

  1. shinichi Post author

    Why stagnation might prove to be the new normal

    by Lawrence Summers

    http://larrysummers.com/commentary/financial-times-columns/why-stagnation-might-prove-to-be-the-new-normal/

    December 15, 2013

    In the past decade, before the crisis, bubbles and loose credit were only sufficient to drive moderate growth

    **

    Now is the time to rebuild our national infrastructure

    by Lawrence H. Summers

    April 11, 2014

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/04/11/idle-workers-low-interest-rates-time-rebuild-infrastructure/UIYHNLdzN0frz0VMVkTS1K/story.html

    Rebuilding the nation’s airports, highways, and bridges will boost the economy and jobs

    Reply
  2. shinichi Post author

    (sk)

    日本がダメになってきて、どうしていいかわからなくなった時、国内の大型公共工事に頼ろうとしたけれど、結局はなにも良くならなかった。

    Lawrence H. Summers は、日本がなにをして、その後どうなったかをとても良く知っている。それでもこういう発言を繰り返す。

    結局のところ、現状の分析をできる人でさえも、なにをしたらいいのかはわからない。良い考えも解決策も、うかばないようだ。

    今、日本でも、Lawrence H. Summers の考えに呼応するかのように、大型公共工事への投資が盛んだが、だからといって経済が良くなる兆候はない。

    経済が良くならなくても、株価が上がりさえすれば、すべてが良くなったかのように錯覚する。その錯覚を、新しい経済だなんて説明する人さえいる。

    ペテン師は、いつの時代にもいる。

    Lawrence H. Summers がペテン師だといっているわけではない。念のため。

    Reply

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