Even so, the recovery in most advanced nations has proceeded more slowly than policymakers would have hoped. This sluggishness has been due in part to the severity of the financial shock associated with the crisis and the persistent headwinds to recovery in its aftermath.
But the lack of fiscal support for demand in recent years also helps account for the weakness of this recovery compared with past recoveries. 1 In the United States, fiscal policy has been much less supportive relative to previous recoveries.