Finance & economics | Fantasy economics

The rich world faces a brutal spending crunch

Countries including America, Britain and France are up against remorseless fiscal logic

Illustration of a politician standing at a podium throwing money in the air.
Illustration: Alberto Miranda
|New York

A decade ago finance ministries were gripped by austerity fever. Governments were doing all they could to cut budget deficits, even with unemployment high and economic growth weak. Today things are very different. Across the West, most economies are in better shape. People have jobs. Corporate-profit growth is strong. And yet governments are spending a lot more than they are taking in.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Fantasy economics”

From the April 13th 2024 edition

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