The Twin Deficits

Abstract

My message in this chapter is that deficits can be good for you. In fact, deficits can be too large, and they can be too small. But we cannot tell which until we know how to measure them. And most people talking about deficits really have no notion how they are measured. The fact is that the way we do measure them has very uncertain economic relevance, and, in particular, the US federal budget and the deficit are calculated in a way which would send chills up the spines of almost any sensible private business accountant.