This, in turn, has contributed to the build-up of the macroeconomic imbalances that many blame for the financial crisis.

ECONOMIST: Reserve currencies

Not only are they most affected but they have contributed the least to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

WHITEHOUSE: THE WHITE HOUSE

High levels of defence spending for Vietnam in the late 1960s and the Reagan build-up in the 1980s both contributed to the emergence of big federal budget deficits.

ECONOMIST: More a question of psychology than economics