Professor Avraham Ravid
Professor Avraham RavidArutz Sheva

The United States economy is improving and is in better shape compared to other world countries, Professor Avraham Ravid told Arutz Sheva.

Prof. Ravid is the Sy Syms Professor of Finance at the Yeshiva University. In the past he has taught at the University of Chicago, Wharton, Cornell, Yale, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Rutgers and in Israel at the Haifa University.

 

“The U.S. is not where it was six or seven years ago, and we’re working our way towards a better future, but it’s not there yet,” he said. “On the other hand, relative to Europe we’re in a very good situation. Europe is in a much worse state than the U.S., so in that sense - when you look at the numbers - the U.S. is going the right way and I believe that the policies that the U.S. has taken are basically sound.”

Referring to Israel’s economy, Professor Ravid admitted that he’s not an expert on Israeli economic policies, but noted that he is always concerned when he hears about austerity measures in a budget.

“I’m a little concerned about austerity policies and budget cuts, because in Europe it didn’t work quite well,” he explained, adding that when one responds to debt by cutting budgets and eliminating jobs, one ends up creating even more debt and that “doesn’t make any sense in the long run.”

A good finance minister or anyone who leads economic policy, said Professor Ravid, should have a basic understanding of basic economics.

“He doesn’t have to be a huge expert in everything, but economists very often have different views; however, we come from the same models,” he said. “It’s very important that when you look at economic advisers you understand the basic models and where they’re coming from.”