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OECD economist slams European, US deficit spending
Paris, Nov 27: Lax control of public deficits and spending in Europe and the United States pose a serious threat to the nascent global economic recovery, the chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned today.
Paris, Nov 27: Lax control of public deficits and spending in Europe and the United States pose a serious threat to the nascent global economic recovery, the chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned today.
Jean-Philippe Cotis said that excessive deficits on both sides of the Atlantic risked pushing up interest rates and harming global economic prospects.
"We need to take stock of what has happened on the policy front, and on the fiscal side we probably need a bit of a u-turn in the way we carry out fiscal policy," Cotis told a news conference. Speaking as his organization published its latest semiannual economic outlook report, Cotis said the global trend toward larger public deficits was "frankly disturbing."
His remarks came as Europe weathered a storm of recriminations over a decision yesterday by Euro-zone finance ministers not to take action against France and Germany for breaching the EU public deficit ceiling for a third straight year - as both countries are on course to do
in 2004.
Bureau Report
"We need to take stock of what has happened on the policy front, and on the fiscal side we probably need a bit of a u-turn in the way we carry out fiscal policy," Cotis told a news conference. Speaking as his organization published its latest semiannual economic outlook report, Cotis said the global trend toward larger public deficits was "frankly disturbing."
His remarks came as Europe weathered a storm of recriminations over a decision yesterday by Euro-zone finance ministers not to take action against France and Germany for breaching the EU public deficit ceiling for a third straight year - as both countries are on course to do
in 2004.
Bureau Report