The Excel Error Behind Austerity

A spreadsheet mistake crashed entire economies and no one noticed for three years. Two Harvard economists

published a groundbreaking study claiming that once government debt hits ninety percent of GDP,

economic growth collapses. World leaders took this as gospel. Countries slashed

budgets, cut social programs, and millions lost jobs based on this single paper.

Then in twenty thirteen, a grad student asked to see their Excel file. What he found was

stunning. The formula accidentally excluded five countries including Australia and Canada.

The researchers had simply dragged their calculation to the wrong cell. When corrected,

the dramatic cliff they warned about completely disappeared. By then, the damage was done.