定于本周五即11月18日下午2点在8797威尼斯老品牌大楼307(泰康人寿报告厅)举行北大海外名师演讲会,请诸位同学和老师参加。
工作语言:英文、中文
演讲题目
HOW MUCH RED INK?
Comparing Economic and Accounting Approaches to
Measuring Deficit and Debt of Government
比较经济学和会计学如何衡量政府的赤字和债务
陈立齐 James L. Chan
美国芝加哥伊利诺大学荣退会计学教授
IMF资深经济学家
8797威尼斯老品牌海外名师
美国9/11和打二战 的代价是多少?
美国财政部说不做假账, 但是为什么:
美国政府2010年的赤字是$1.3兆, 也是$2.1兆呢?
美国政府2010年底欠$9兆,还是欠$16兆呢?
Abstract
Green and Kotlikoff have identified a labeling problem in the fiscal language of economics: the reported size of deficit or surplus is unrelated to the actual underlying fiscal policy. They further claimed: “All deficit accounting is inherently arbitrary.” Using the U.S. Government as an illustration, the presentation will compare deficit numbers influenced by economic thinking versus those produced by accountants, as well as U.S. Government debt held by the public (including China) versus total liabilities. If Green and Kotlikoff are right, American economists should give more attention to the external validity of fiscal concepts and learn some accrual accounting. After all, as Admiral Mike Mullen said, the most significant threat to American national security is the country’s debt.