In the United States, labor practices, securities issuance, banking, agricultural pricing, and many other segments of the American economy, fell under the oversight of government. With the onset of World War II, both the U.S. and the U.K. economies went on a regimented war footing. Military production ramped up rapidly and output reached impressive levels. Central planning, in one sense, had its finest hour.
Third, we need rules ensuring stricter fiscal discipline in the future. Some progress has been made with recent amendments to the SGP, the so called “six pack”, and  4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  the fiscal compact. But given past experience, rigorous implementation of the new rules is crucial. Germany has set an example by introducing a national debt brake in 2009.