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Analysis of issues shaping African development. April 2012
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countercyclical
I wish to thank you for your reply. However, it poses a problem (inflation above 50%) without explaining why one should be concerned about it at this moment. As I show in several papers on my web site (and other researchers have shown), inflation is quite low in the sub-Saharan region except in a few post-conflict countries.
The important point is that inflation is not an absolute evil. I trust we have moved beyond that primitve view. The issue is the cost of the various undesirable by-products of expansionary policies, compared to the benefits of these policies. This is the prevailing view in most developed countries, most notably in the United States.
In conclusion, I would ask a general question: do you accept the principle that governments should pursue an active fiscal policy, or do you argue for a so-called neutral fiscal policy? By "active fiscal policy" I mean use of the current budget for stabilising output near full potential (countercyclical interventions in face of both deflationary and inflationary pressures), and use of the capital budget to raise the potential growth rate.
For those interested in policy discussion of use of active fiscal policy in developing countries, there are several relevant papers on my website (all of which can be download).
http://jweeks.org