New column day

Here, updating the respective effects of smart investment and needless austerity in the economic laboratory provided by the 2008 financial meltdown - and noting we have all the more reason to be suspicious of our own austerity buffs at home.

For further background, see...
- Jason Kirby's 2011 proposal to compare the U.S. and U.K. as test cases.
- Philip Aldrick on the disastrous effects of austerity in the U.K.
- The U.S. Treasury's comparison (PDF) of growth among different countries up to early 2012.
- Reuters on Japan's sudden surge since its stimulus program was announced just a month ago.
- Bloomberg on Iceland's remarkable recovery - driven by a determination to prioritize citizens' interests over the lobbying of the financial sector.
- And finally, Paul Krugman passim - but especially his commentary on the IMF's recognition that governments thoroughly underestimated the value of stimulus.