Economists Against Stimulus - Cato Institute

Economists Against Stimulus
by CATO Institute
Issue 127 - March 4, 2009

"There is no disagreement that we need action by our government,
a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy."

— PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 9, 2009

With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.

Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

• Burton Abrams, Univ. of Delaware
• Douglas Adie, Ohio University
• Ryan Amacher, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
• J.J. Arias, Georgia College & State University
• Howard Baetjer, Jr., Towson University
• Stacie Beck, Univ. of Delaware
• Don Bellante, Univ. of South Florida
• James Bennett, George Mason University
• Bruce Benson, Florida State University
• Sanjai Bhagat, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
• Mark Bils, Univ. of Rochester
• Alberto Bisin, New York University
• Walter Block, Loyola University New Orleans
• Cecil Bohanon, Ball State University
• Michele Boldrin, Washington University in St. Louis
• Donald Booth, Chapman University
• Michael Bordo, Rutgers University
• Samuel Bostaph, Univ. of Dallas
• Scott Bradford, Brigham Young University
• Genevieve Briand, Eastern Washington University
• George Brower, Moravian College
• James Buchanan, Nobel laureate
• Richard Burdekin, Claremont McKenna College
• Henry Butler, Northwestern University
• William Butos, Trinity College
• Peter Calcagno, College of Charleston
• Bryan Caplan, George Mason University
• Art Carden, Rhodes College
• James Cardon, Brigham Young University
• Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University
• Emily Chamlee-Wright, Beloit College
• V.V. Chari, Univ. of Minnesota
• Barry Chiswick, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
• Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University
• J.R. Clark, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Gian Luca Clementi, New York University
• R. Morris Coats, Nicholls State University
• John Cochran, Metropolitan State College
• John Cochrane, Univ. of Chicago
• John Cogan, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• John Coleman, Duke University
• Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University
• Robert Collinge, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
• Lee Coppock, Univ. of Virginia
• Mario Crucini, Vanderbilt University
• Christopher Culp, Univ. of Chicago
• Kirby Cundiff, Northeastern State University
• Antony Davies, Duquesne University
• John Dawson, Appalachian State University
• Clarence Deitsch, Ball State University
• Arthur Diamond, Jr., Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha
• John Dobra, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
• James Dorn, Towson University
• Christopher Douglas, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
• Floyd Duncan, Virginia Military Institute
• Francis Egan, Trinity College
• John Egger, Towson University
• Kenneth Elzinga, Univ. of Virginia
• Paul Evans, Ohio State University
• Eugene Fama, Univ. of Chicago
• W. Ken Farr, Georgia College & State University
• Hartmut Fischer, Univ. of San Francisco
• Fred Foldvary, Santa Clara University
• Murray Frank, Univ. of Minnesota
• Peter Frank, Wingate University
• Timothy Fuerst, Bowling Green State University
• B. Delworth Gardner, Brigham Young University
• John Garen, Univ. of Kentucky
• Rick Geddes, Cornell University
• Aaron Gellman, Northwestern University
• William Gerdes, Clarke College
• Michael Gibbs, Univ. of Chicago
• Stephan Gohmann, Univ. of Louisville
• Rodolfo Gonzalez, San Jose State University
• Richard Gordon, Penn State University
• Peter Gordon, Univ. of Southern California
• Ernie Goss, Creighton University
• Paul Gregory, Univ. of Houston
• Earl Grinols, Baylor University
• Daniel Gropper, Auburn University
• R.W. Hafer, Southern Illinois
• University, Edwardsville
• Arthur Hall, Univ. of Kansas
• Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins
• Stephen Happel, Arizona State University
• Frank Hefner, College of Charleston
• Ronald Heiner, George Mason University
• David Henderson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• Robert Herren, North Dakota State University
• Gailen Hite, Columbia University
• Steven Horwitz, St. Lawrence University
• John Howe, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
• Jeffrey Hummel, San Jose State University
• Bruce Hutchinson, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Brian Jacobsen, Wisconsin Lutheran College
• Jason Johnston, Univ. of Pennsylvania
• Boyan Jovanovic, New York University
• Jonathan Karpoff, Univ. of Washington
• Barry Keating, Univ. of Notre Dame
• Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University
• Nicholas Kiefer, Cornell University
• Daniel Klein, George Mason University
• Paul Koch, Univ. of Kansas
• Narayana Kocherlakota, Univ. of Minnesota
• Marek Kolar, Delta College
• Roger Koppl, Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Kishore Kulkarni, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• Deepak Lal, UCLA
• George Langelett, South Dakota State University
• James Larriviere, Spring Hill College
• Robert Lawson, Auburn University
• John Levendis, Loyola University New Orleans
• David Levine, Washington University in St. Louis
• Peter Lewin, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
• Dean Lillard, Cornell University
• Zheng Liu, Emory University
• Alan Lockard, Binghampton University
• Edward Lopez, San Jose State University
• John Lunn, Hope College
• Glenn MacDonald, Washington
• University in St. Louis
• Michael Marlow, California
• Polytechnic State University
• Deryl Martin, Tennessee Tech University
• Dale Matcheck, Northwood University
• Deirdre McCloskey, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
• John McDermott, Univ. of South Carolina
• Joseph McGarrity, Univ. of Central Arkansas
• Roger Meiners, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
• Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University
• John Merrifield, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
• James Miller III, George Mason University
• Jeffrey Miron, Harvard University
• Thomas Moeller, Texas Christian University
• John Moorhouse, Wake Forest University
• Andrea Moro, Vanderbilt University
• Andrew Morriss, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Michael Munger, Duke University
• Kevin Murphy, Univ. of Southern California
• Richard Muth, Emory University
• Charles Nelson, Univ. of Washington
• Seth Norton, Wheaton College
• Lee Ohanian, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
• Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University
• Evan Osborne, Wright State University
• Randall Parker, East Carolina University
• Donald Parsons, George Washington University
• Sam Peltzman, Univ. of Chicago
• Mark Perry, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
• Christopher Phelan, Univ. of Minnesota
• Gordon Phillips, Univ. of Maryland
• Michael Pippenger, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Tomasz Piskorski, Columbia University
• Brennan Platt, Brigham Young University
• Joseph Pomykala, Towson University
• William Poole, Univ. of Delaware
• Barry Poulson, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
• Benjamin Powell, Suffolk University
• Edward Prescott, Nobel laureate
• Gary Quinlivan, Saint Vincent College
• Reza Ramazani, Saint Michael's College
• Adriano Rampini, Duke University
• Eric Rasmusen, Indiana University
• Mario Rizzo, New York University
• Richard Roll, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
• Robert Rossana, Wayne State University
• James Roumasset, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
• John Rowe, Univ. of South Florida
• Charles Rowley, George Mason University
• Juan Rubio-Ramirez, Duke University
• Roy Ruffin, Univ. of Houston
• Kevin Salyer, Univ. of California, Davis
• Pavel Savor, Univ. of Pennsylvania
• Ronald Schmidt, Univ. of Rochester
• Carlos Seiglie, Rutgers University
• William Shughart II, Univ. of Mississippi
• Charles Skipton, Univ. of Tampa
• James Smith, Western Carolina University
• Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate
• Lawrence Southwick, Jr., Univ. at Buffalo
• Dean Stansel, Florida Gulf Coast University
• Houston Stokes, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
• Brian Strow, Western Kentucky University
• Shirley Svorny, California State
• University, Northridge
• John Tatom, Indiana State University
• Wade Thomas, State University of New York at Oneonta
• Henry Thompson, Auburn University
• Alex Tokarev, The King's College
• Edward Tower, Duke University
• Leo Troy, Rutgers University
• David Tuerck, Suffolk University
• Charlotte Twight, Boise State University
• Kamal Upadhyaya, Univ. of New Haven
• Charles Upton, Kent State University
• T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University
• Richard Vedder, Ohio University
• Richard Wagner, George Mason University
• Douglas M. Walker, College of Charleston
• Douglas O. Walker, Regent University
• Christopher Westley, Jacksonville State University
• Lawrence White, Univ. of Missouri at St. Louis
• Walter Williams, George Mason University
• Doug Wills, Univ. of Washington Tacoma
• Dennis Wilson, Western Kentucky University
• Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College
• Huizhong Zhou, Western Michigan University

Additional economists who have signed the statement

• Lee Adkins, Oklahoma State University
• William Albrecht, Univ. of Iowa
• Donald Alexander, Western Michigan University
• Geoffrey Andron, Austin Community College
• Nathan Ashby, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
• George Averitt, Purdue North Central University
• Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay
• Timothy Bastian, Creighton University
• Joe Bell, Missouri State University, Springfield
• John Bethune, Barton College
• Robert Bise, Orange Coast College
• Karl Borden, University of Nebraska
• Donald Boudreaux, George Mason University
• Ivan Brick, Rutgers University
• Phil Bryson, Brigham Young University
• Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University
• Edwin Burton, Univ. of Virginia
• Jim Butkiewicz, Univ. of Delaware
• Richard Cebula, Armstrong Atlantic State University
• Don Chance, Louisiana State University
• Robert Chatfield, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University
• Peter Colwell, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Michael Connolly, Univ. of Miami
• Jim Couch, Univ. of North Alabama
• Eleanor Craig, Univ. of Delaware
• Michael Daniels, Columbus State University
• A. Edward Day, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
• Stephen Dempsey, Univ. of Vermont
• Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University
• William Dewald, Ohio State University
• Jeff Dorfman, Univ. of Georgia
• Lanny Ebenstein, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
• Michael Erickson, The College of Idaho
• Jack Estill, San Jose State University
• Dorla Evans, Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville
• Frank Falero, California State University, Bakersfield
• Daniel Feenberg, National Bureau of Economic Research
• Eric Fisher, California Polytechnic State University
• Arthur Fleisher, Metropolitan State College of Denver
• William Ford, Middle Tennessee State University
• Ralph Frasca, Univ. of Dayton
• Joseph Giacalone, St. John's University
• Adam Gifford, California State Unviersity, Northridge
• Otis Gilley, Louisiana Tech University
• J. Edward Graham, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• Richard Grant, Lipscomb University
• Gauri-Shankar Guha, Arkansas State University
• Darren Gulla, Univ. of Kentucky
• Dennis Halcoussis, California State University, Northridge
• Richard Hart, Miami University
• James Hartley, Mount Holyoke College
• Thomas Hazlett, George Mason University
• Scott Hein, Texas Tech University
• Bradley Hobbs, Florida Gulf Coast University
• John Hoehn, Michigan State University
• Daniel Houser, George Mason University
• Thomas Howard, University of Denver
• Chris Hughen, Univ. of Denver
• Marcus Ingram, Univ. of Tampa
• Joseph Jadlow, Oklahoma State University
• Sherry Jarrell, Wake Forest University
• Scott Kelly, Albany State University
• Carrie Kerekes, Florida Gulf Coast University
• Robert Krol, California State University, Northridge
• James Kurre, Penn State Erie
• Tom Lehman, Indiana Wesleyan University
• W. Cris Lewis, Utah State University
• Stan Liebowitz, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
• Anthony Losasso, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
• John Lott, Jr., Univ. of Maryland
• Keith Malone, Univ. of North Alabama
• Henry Manne, George Mason University
• Richard Marcus, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• James Barney Marsh, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University
• John Matsusaka, Univ. of Southern California
• Thomas Mayor, Univ. of Houston
• John McConnell, Purdue University
• W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University
• Mario Miranda, The Ohio State University
• Ed Miseta, Penn State Erie
• James Moncur, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
• Charles Moss, Univ. of Florida
• Tim Muris, George Mason University
• John Murray, Univ. of Toledo
• David Mustard, Univ. of Georgia
• Steven Myers, Univ. of Akron
• Dhananjay Nanda, University of Miami
• Stephen Parente, Univ. of Minnesota
• Allen Parkman, Univ. of New Mexico
• Douglas Patterson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University
• Timothy Perri, Appalachian State University
• Mark Pingle, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
• Ivan Pongracic, Hillsdale College
• Robert Prati, East Carolina University
• Richard Rawlins, Missouri Southern State University
• Thomas Rhee, California State University, Long Beach
• Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University
• Larry Ross, Univ. of Alaska Anchorage
• Timothy Roth, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
• Atulya Sarin, Santa Clara University
• Thomas Saving, Texas A&M University
• Eric Schansberg, Indiana University Southeast
• John Seater, North Carolina University
• Alan Shapiro, Univ. of Southern California
• Thomas Simmons, Greenfield Community College
• W. James Smith, University of Colorado Denver
• Frank Spreng, McKendree University
• Judith Staley Brenneke, John Carroll University
• John E. Stapleford, Eastern University
• Courtenay Stone, Ball State University
• Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA
• Scott Sumner, Bentley University
• Clifford Thies, Shenandoah University
• William Trumbull, West Virginia University
• A. Sinan Unur, Cornell University
• Randall Valentine, Georgia Southwestern State University
• Gustavo Ventura, Univ. of Iowa
• Marc Weidenmier, Claremont McKenna College
• Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University
• Gene Wunder, Washburn University
• John Zdanowicz, Florida International University
• Jerry Zimmerman, Univ. of Rochester
• Joseph Zoric, Franciscan University of Steubenville