Too good to be true

WITH his promises to introduce a “maximum wage”, nationalise energy companies and even reopen coal mines, one might not expect Jeremy Corbyn to enjoy much support among economists, at least this side of Moscow. But the socialist MP, who looks likely to be elected leader of the Labour Party on September 12th, has been shoring up his economic credentials. His team has produced a letter from “leading economists” (including a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary-policy committee) backing his anti-austerity stance. Some of his less bombastic policies—including reforming the tax system and printing money to boost investment—sound plausible. Should people take Corbynomics more seriously?

Mr Corbyn is not alone in questioning the priority given to cutting the budget deficit, which stands at 5% of GDP. Many economists accept that five years of budget cutting have acted as a straitjacket on growth. Simon Wren-Lewis of Oxford University reckons that a conservative estimate for the cumulative cost of austerity would be 5% of GDP, or nearly £100 billion (about $150 billion). Debate rumbles on as to whether it was, nonetheless, necessary.