Can austerity lead to prosperity?

Professor Ha-Joon Chang

Economist Professor Ha-Joon Chang answers Jon Danzig's question on whether 

austerity ever worked

Tonight I asked Professor Ha-Joon Chang, world renowned economist, if he could name any time in history when austerity measures led to prosperity. 


He said no.

See also Ha-Joon Chang's article in The Guardian: 'Austerity has never worked'

Ha-Joon also wrote: '23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism'


Thing 1: There is no such thing as a free market. 
Thing 2: Companies should not be run in the interest of their owners. 
Thing 3: Most people in rich countries are paid more than they should be. 
Thing 4: The washing machine has changed the world more than the Internet. 
Thing 5: Assume the worst about people and you will get the worst. 
Thing 6: Greater macroeconomic stability has not made the world economy more stable. 
Thing 7: Free-market policies rarely make poor countries rich. 
Thing 8: Capital has a nationality. 
Thing 9: We do not live in a post-industrial age. 
Thing 10: The U.S. does not have the highest standard of living in the world. 
Thing 11: Africa is not destined for underdevelopment. 
Thing 12: Governments can pick winners. 
Thing 13: Making rich people richer doesn't make the rest of us richer. 
Thing 14: U.S. managers are overpriced. 
Thing 15: People in poor countries are more entrepreneurial than people in rich countries. 
Thing 16: We are not smart enough to leave things to the market. 
Thing 17: More education in itself is not going to make a country richer. 
Thing 18: What is good for General Motors is not necessarily good for the United States. 
Thing 19: Despite the fall of communism, we are still living in planned economies. 
Thing 20: Equality of opportunity may be not be fair. 
Thing 21: Big government makes people more open to change
Thing 22: Financial markets need to become less, not more, efficient. 
Thing 23: Good economic policy does not require good economists.