The study looks at this, and finds that quite a lot - 23% - of the debt overshoot in these ten countries was due to "an incomplete understanding of the country's underlying fiscal position on the eve of the crisis".
Of course, the financial crisis explains this massive forecasting error, but the studyfinds that relatively little was due to fiscal stimulus programmes in response to the downturn.
Cost is often cited as a reason for this reluctance, but a study published Tuesday by UPenn researchers in the journal Circulation finds that cooling is more cost effective than many established medical therapies.