Paul Krugman squares off against Lawrence Summers on the economy at the next instalment of the Munk Debates
While the Occupy protestors entrenched in St. James Park are proof enough that times are bad, four high-profile economists are set to debate whether we’re clawing our way out of the recession or if we are, indeed, truly sunk. “Be it resolved, North America faces a Japan-style era of high unemployment and slow growth” is the topic of November’s Munk Debates, in which New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and Gluskin Sheff’s David Rosenberg argue for and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers and Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer argue against. These titans have more Wall Street cred than Scrooge McDuck, so the discussion should be one to watch—and maybe by the end we’ll know whether we’re in brioche or gruel for the next decade. Read more at the Munk Debates website »
This is going to be a good one, both Summers and Krugman have sniped at each other at a distance.
Summers took Krugman to task for suggesting that US banks be nationalized during the 2008 crises, more or less needling Krugman about his judgement – and that such extreme measures weren’t needed.
Krugman has questioned the size of Summers ego in stark terms, suggesting he is somewhat of a self-promoter.
In reality, the differences between them are not that large, except over the nature of current inflation (which is a biggy).
Both favor stimulus now. Both are very knowledgeable.