It’s no secret that economists love a good debate, so much so that they often have the same debates over and over. A lively argument is currently under way about what’s causing disappointingly weak growth in the world economy. A prominent Harvard University economics professor once suggested that the U.S. economy was headed for what he called “secular stagnation.” Extended periods of strong economic growth were no longer likely, he said, because of a chronic shortfall in demand. I’m not referring to Harvard’s Professor Lawrence Summers, who holds this secular stagnation view today. Rather, I’m talking about Professor ... (full story)