, Columnist
No Babies, No Stimulus
Demographics should change the cost-benefit calculation when you’re considering a stimulus program.
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The last four years have seen a lot of back and forth about stimulus. Though the battle is carried out with studies and lots of historical analogy, I see little evidence that either side has done much persuading. The real battle is over ideology: Roughly speaking, those who think larger government would be swell are in favor of spending more government money on stuff, while those who want to shrink government until they can drown it in a bathtub are vehemently opposed.
But today, Tyler Cowen actually suggests a new way to think about stimulus: in terms of demographics.