Perhaps the hardest challenge has been to persuade the public, impatient for rapid growth, of the need to ensure stability first. Growth, it is argued, is always more important, regardless of the looming economic risks.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of stability over rapid growth in the face of potential economic risks.
Raghuram Rajan expresses a critical perspective on the common belief that growth should be prioritized above all else. He argues that convincing the public to value stability, especially in uncertain economic times, is a significant challenge. The quote underscores the tension between the desire for immediate growth and the necessity of ensuring a stable foundation, which can prevent larger economic problems in the future.
In practice
During an economic policy discussion, one might quote this to advocate for prioritizing stability over immediate growth.
The U.S. should worry about the effects of its polices on the rest of the world. We would like to live in a world where countries take into account the effect of their policies on other countries and do what is right, broadly, rather than what is just right given the circumstances of that country.
Customers often value a good more when its price goes up. One reason may be its signaling value. An expensive handcrafted mechanical watch may tell time no more accurately than a cheap quartz model; but, because few people can afford one, buying it signals that the owner is rich.
The problem with forbearance is that it always looks like a good thing to do until it stops working.
Too many years away from academia renders you pretty incompetent at research and teaching. So I had to go back.
The gap in India has always been between the promise and the execution.
Democratic accountability means that governments must be popularly accepted, with citizens empowered to replace corrupt or incompetent rulers.
Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.
When people talk of the economy being strong, they don't seem to feel that they, too, are better off.
I've never believed protectionism of that kind will lead us anywhere. I think you can have certain specific rules for engaging with India.. for example, not allowing mineral resources to be taken out of the country.. but there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that when you open an economy you should do it in totality. Foreign investment adds a sense of competition; we should see this as a wake-up call to modernise and upgrade. Companies that do not will undoubtedly die.
There can be no rise in the value of labour without a fall of profits.
The 'boom-bust' cycle is generated by monetary intervention in the market, specifically bank credit expansion to business.
Obama had to save the banks, sure, but he didn't have to save the bankers and the shareholders and the bondholders. We broke the rules of capitalism in order to save those at the top - as we always do.
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