If, When, How? Prospects for Fiscal Stimulus in the U.S. Economy

With the housing and financial markets still in distress and consumer confidence slipping, there is growing evidence that an economic slowdown — or even a recession — may be on the horizon. On January 10, 2008, The Hamilton Project released a briefing paper and convened a discussion on what economists know about fiscal stimulus — if it is appropriate, when should it be implemented, and how it should it be done.

Brookings Senior Fellow Douglas W. Elmendorf provided a short overview of the new paper, followed by a roundtable discussion on these broader issues. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin moderated the panel of economic experts that included former Council of Economic Advisers Chairman and current Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, Hamilton Project Director and Brookings Senior Fellow Jason Furman, Moody’s Economy.com Chief Economist Mark Zandi, and Brookings Senior Fellow Alice M. Rivlin, a former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Director of the Office of Management & Budget.