50 People Who Matter 2010 | 39. Paul Krugman

Keeping it Keynesian.

By New Statesman Published 27 September 2010

With governments around the world facing budget deficits and economic downturn in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, commentary by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has emerged to lead the counterargument to the rapid public spending cuts favoured in Britain and across Europe.

A New York Times columnist for more than a decade, he is widely credited with repopularising the Keynesian economic model, and is thought to have had a significant influence on the Obama administration's decision to continue with fiscal stimulus, rather than introduce cuts or increase the tax burden.

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5 comments

Wed, 2010-09-29 12:41 — Stuart (not verified)

Krugman is amazing. He is a brilliant, insightful economist whose columns, papers, and books are now widely read and respected for their honesty by his peers (a few name-callers who don't read what he actually says excepted). He can explain his reasoning in layman's terms. He corrects his errors publicly (who does that?). He constantly seeks the truth of things whether they fit politically with his nominally liberal views or not. And most wonderfully and most refreshing, he is not afraid to care about ordinary people and voice their concerns in the strongest terms (who does that?).

Tue, 2010-09-28 01:17 — Faustino (not verified)

Krugman was a world-class, innovative economist, whose work I've drawn on to inform my economic policy advice. But he is now a partisan commentator rather than a seeker after truth, and is no longer held in such high esteem by his peers. Influential? Yes, but in his current role not always for the good.

Fri, 2010-10-01 08:40 — odellbuchana614

Re Faustino's comment:
All significant economic questions are political. If one brand of politics - the right - is sold on the idea of savage budget cuts during a time of high unemployment and low growth, then a serious commentator, concerned about the effects of policy on employment, will take issue with the parties that espouse such a line. An economist speaks to politics once they start to speak the truth.
I agree with Stuart: Krugman is a star and a brilliant writer of newspaper columns.

Tue, 2010-11-16 14:25 — Joe Penny (not verified)

Isn't Krugman the same feminist sycophant who sat there on Oprah's sofa and said on national TV with a straight face that "more of the world's women died during child birth then men died in World War I (9.7 million in combat alone, 20 million total between 1914-18}?