----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- Can anyone trace the intellectual origin of the World Bank/IMF obsession with eliminating/restricting fiscal deficits as a panacea or part-panacea for economic problems in Third World countries? In India the fiscal deficit percentages began to be treated as almost magical objectives on cue from international financial institutions since the early nineties. Perhaps a similar thing happened in Argentina, leading to its current crisis, as I understand that the regime was busy raising taxes even during recession when the need was really to pump-prime the economy. Instead of a phobia about fiscal deficit percentages the real issue seems to be whether the money spent is being used productively. So obvious a thing could have been overlooked only in pursuit of an abstract idea backed by a doctrine. What could be the intellectual source of such blinkers? Anil Nauriya ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]