If Gordon is right about slow productivity growth, the debt overhang inherited from the crisis and public-finance woes will persist for much longer than anticipated. If, in addition, Summers is right that demand is bound to remain deficient, the combination of financial troubles and persistent mass unemployment is likely to push governments toward radical solutions – debt default, inflation, or financial protectionism.
将戈登和萨默斯提出的挑战与发达经济体正在回暖的观点相结合，推出的结论令人沮丧。如果戈登关于生产率增长缓慢的看法是对的，那么危机和公共财政混乱导致的债务积压的持续时间将远大于预期。此外，如果萨默斯关于需求必定将维持不足状态的观点是对的，那么金融困境和持续大规模失业的组合可能导致政府采取激进方案——债务违约、通货膨胀或金融保护主义。