Do Budget Deficits Matter?
Controversies over the effects of fiscal policy on the economy have been at the heart of the policy debate surrounding the chronic deficits of the 1980s, the sharp rise in official budget surpluses in the late 1990s, and the equally sharp decline in the fiscal outlook recently.
This panel discussion, the first in an ongoing series on macroeconomic issues sponsored by the Brookings Institution, will examine a variety of questions regarding the effects of deficits on the economy: Do budget deficits matter? Under what circumstances and what time horizons are they good, bad, or neutral? How important are they to strong economic growth?
Following their remarks, panelists will answer questions from the audience.
Agenda
Moderators
Alice M. Rivlin
Former Brookings Expert
Panelists
Charles L. Schultze
Former Brookings Expert
Eric Engen
Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Rudolph G. Penner
Senior Fellow and the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy, The Urban Institute
William G. Gale
The Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy
Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Director - Retirement Security Project
Co-Director - Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
More Information
To subscribe or manage your subscriptions to our top event topic lists, please visit our event topics page.
