Doug Elmendorf and Karen Dynan: How much can the federal budget and the deficit continue to grow?
Podcast |
Ask a Harvard Professor
Publisher |
Harvard Magazine
Media Type |
audio
Podknife tags |
Interview, 
Society & Culture
Categories Via RSS |
Education, 
Science, 
Society & Culture
Publication Date |
Apr 13, 2020
Episode Duration |
00:26:38

What should be done now about the federal budget and the deficit, with Doug Elmendorf, dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, and Karen Dynan, professor of the practice of economics.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/doug-elmendorf-and-karen-dynan

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

EVEN BEFORE THE CORONAVIRUS SHIFTED THE U.S. ECONOMY INTO LOW GEAR, demanding a massive stimulus in response, federal debt as a percentage of GDP was as high as it had been since the years following World War II. Simultaneously, given the nation’s aging population, spending on benefits for older Americans was and is expected to skyrocket. Should voters be worried? Why would curbing federal deficits now be a mistake? In this episode, recorded before the coronavirus arrived in the United States but perhaps even more pertinent now, Price professor of public policy Douglas Elmendorf, who is dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, and professor of the practice of economics Karen Dynan argue that this is the moment for the U.S. government to borrow.

What should be done now about the federal budget and the deficit, with Doug Elmendorf, dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, and Karen Dynan, professor of the practice of economics.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/doug-elmendorf-and-karen-dynan

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

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