: NBER, July 2012). (“Indeed, automatic enrollment is an extreme form of simplification; individuals who want to save need not do anything. Psychologists have long recognized that choice complexity can affect decision-making outcomes. One result is procrastination—individuals put off decision making as choices become more complicated.”) (Internal citations omitted.)
This identity is true whether we are talking about budget deficits building up the stock of outstanding government debt (a liability of the government sector to the private sector), or trade deficits building up the stock of external debt (the net stock of accumulated foreign claims against the United States).2 Economists have worried for years about optimal stocks of government and external debt.