Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance

A thorough investigation of the current combination of austerity and extravagance that characterizes government spending and central bank monetary policy

At the close of the 1970s, government treasuries and central banks took a vow of perpetual self-restraint. To this day, fiscal authorities fret over soaring public debt burdens, while central bankers wring their hands at the slightest sign of rising wages. As the brief reprieve of coronavirus spending made clear, no departure from governmen...