On Thursday September 1, Professor Anis Chowdhury presented his paper: The debate on fiscal austerity: how robust is the evidence? This talk critically examines the key empirical evidence that is assembled to support the fiscal consolidation argument. In particular, we review the evidence on the debt-growth relationship. We find that the negative relationship between debt and GDP growth is influenced by outliers or exceptionally high debt-GDP ratios. Furthermore, when there is a relationship, it appears to be non-linear – positive first and turning to negative at some point, but there is considerable variation in the estimated turning or “tipping” point, which is not helpful as a policy guide. We also briefly review the case of fiscal consolidation in the US (1995-2000), Denmark (1983-87) and Ireland (1987-89). We find that contrary to the claims of fiscal consolidationists, growth in these economies during the era of fiscal consolidation was the result of favourable exchange rate and interest policies, which, in turn, helped fiscal consolidation. A close scrutiny of the Danish-Irish cases also shows that both economies were helped by a favourable world economic environment. Thus, we find that the argument that fiscal consolidation is possible without adversely affecting growth is not based on robust empirical evidence. Anis Chowdhury: Obtained Ph.D. in 1983 from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Professor of Economics, University of Western Sydney (Australia) since 2001. Co-authored 14 books and over 50 articles in leading journals. Joined UN-DESA as Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Office of the Under Secretary General in October 2008. Supported the drafting of Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS 2010): Rethinking Poverty and Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS 2011): Social Impacts of the Global Financial Crisis. Regular contributor to voxeu.org (Development and Crisis debate). Founder Managing Editor of Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. Taught at the University of Manitoba, National University of Singapore, and the University of New England (Australia). Published extensively on East and Southeast Asia. Has been consultant to UNDP, ILO, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Islamic Development Bank. Visiting fellow at UNU-WIDER, Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore). Team member preparing Indonesia National Human Development Report 2001: Towards a New Consensus: Democracy and Human Development in Indonesia and Indonesia National Human Development Report 2004: The Economics of Democracy: Financing Human Development in Indonesia.On Thursday September 1, Professor Anis Chowdhury presented his paper: The debate on fiscal austerity: how robust is the evidence? This talk critically examines the key empirical evidence that is assembled to support the fiscal consolidation argument. In particular, we review the evidence on the debt-growth relationship. We find that the negative relationship between debt and GDP growth is influenced by outliers or exceptionally high debt-GDP ratios. Furthermore, when there is a relationship, it appears to be non-linear – positive first and turning to negative at some point, but there is considerable variation in the estimated turning or “tipping” point, which is not helpful as a policy guide. We also briefly review the case of fiscal consolidation in the US (1995-2000), Denmark (1983-87) and Ireland (1987-89). We find that contrary to the claims of fiscal consolidationists, growth in these economies during the era of fiscal consolidation was the result of favourable exchange rate and interest policies, which, in turn, helped fiscal consolidation. A close scrutiny of the Danish-Irish cases also shows that both economies were helped by a favourable world economic environment. Thus, we find that the argument that fiscal consolidation is possible without adversely affecting growth is not based on robust empirical evidence. Anis Chowdhury: Obtained Ph.D. in 1983 from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Professor of Economics, University of Western Sydney (Australia) since 2001. Co-authored 14 books and over 50 articles in leading journals. Joined UN-DESA as Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Office of the Under Secretary General in October 2008. Supported the drafting of Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS 2010): Rethinking Poverty and Report on the World Social Situation (RWSS 2011): Social Impacts of the Global Financial Crisis. Regular contributor to voxeu.org (Development and Crisis debate). Founder Managing Editor of Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. Taught at the University of Manitoba, National University of Singapore, and the University of New England (Australia). Published extensively on East and Southeast Asia. Has been consultant to UNDP, ILO, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Islamic Development Bank. Visiting fellow at UNU-WIDER, Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore). Team member preparing Indonesia National Human Development Report 2001: Towards a New Consensus: Democracy and Human Development in Indonesia and Indonesia National Human Development Report 2004: The Economics of Democracy: Financing Human Development in Indonesia.