Playing to the referee does not always require such subterfuge.

ECONOMIST: Cheating in sport

Keynesian boondoggles are acceptable in principle, they say, but they cite Japan in the 1990s as proof that such spending does not always stimulate the economy: better to boost businesses' cashflow by easing their tax burden.

ECONOMIST: The politics of a shrinking economy

It is a delicate balancing act which does not always work - often because of other factors such as staff shortages, he added.

BBC: Health initiatives change the face of the NHS