But if we believe that debt-driven demand is different, demand stimulus will at best be a palliative. Writing down former borrowers’ debt may be slightly more effective in producing the old pattern of demand, but it will probably not restore it to the pre-crisis level.
新凯恩斯主义经济学家想要一般地提振需求。但如果我们相信债务驱动型需求有其特殊性，那我们就得承认需求刺激政策最多是治标不治本。为了恢复原有的需求模式，对原借款人的债务进行减记，效果固然比一般性刺激略好，但这种策略也很难让需求恢复到危机前的水平。更何况，我们真的想让原先的那些借款人再度陷入泥潭吗？