Economist suggests that governments spend their way out of trouble

Tokyo

INTERNATIONALLY acknowledged economist Nouriel Roubini on Friday joined other experts in urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay a planned hike in Japan's sales tax, despite the country's government debt burden now being the highest among economically advanced nations.

Mr Roubini, a former economic advisor to the US Treasury Department and to the White House, also suggested that the US, China, Japan, Canada and some European nations all have "space" to expand fiscal spending, and so avoid an over-reliance on monetary policy to bolster economic growth.