5: Things that economists really agree on

In my economic policy class, my professor gave us a list of things that economists, across all political spectrums, actually agree on. Here are the 5 that he considered the most interesting ones and the percent of economists who agree on it.

01|Fiscal policy (e.g. tax cut and/or government expenditure increase) has a significant impact on a less than fully employed economy. {90%}

02| A large federal budget deficit has an adverse effect on the economy. {83%}

03| If the federal budget is to be balanced, it should be done over the business cycle rather than yearly. {85%}

04| Effluent taxes and marketable pollution permits represent a better approach to pollution control than imposition ceilings. [Reward pollution control is more effective than punishing it]. {78%}

05| A minimum wage increases unemployment among young and unskilled workers. {79%}

Of course there were subjects that more/less economists agreed on which were boring.

Original Source: Mankiw, N. Gregory (2008), Essentials of Economics

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