In an interview with the BBC, David Blanchflower, the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics, speaks to the contrasting perceptions that have developed in the U.S. and the U.K. surrounding economic recovery.
Blanchflower says, “Living in the U.S., you hear people being very positive about the economy, and confidence has actually picked up.” He adds, “I think that stands in direct contrast to a government whose leaders are starting to say that the U.K. is bankrupt and comparable to Greece, or Portugal, or Spain, both of which are entirely untrue. So talking down the economy appears to have actually had a very big effect on business and consumer confidence in the U.K., and not in the U.S.”
Also, unlike in Europe, Blanchflower notes, “The U.S. has been talking about austerity, but hasn’t done it yet.” He also says that the private sector in the U.S. is beginning to create jobs and that there has not been a large decline in government employment, which, he says “is not the case in the U.K.”
Read the full story, published 3/13/12 by the BBC.
