WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Even if U.S. President Donald Trump hits his growth target of 3 percent in the next two years, only stock market may be cheering, Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff has said.
"The stock market may care only about the growth rate, but most Americans should be very concerned about how growth is achieved," said Rogoff, a renowned Harvard economist and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in an article published by Project Syndicate this week.
Trump has boasted that his policies would bring about a sustained growth rate above 3 percent.
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to the revised data of the Commerce Department. The growth rate for the first half of this year stands at 2.1 percent.
"Given this performance, getting to 3 percent annual growth would hardly be a miracle," said Rogoff.
"So, yes, Trump just might get his growth number, especially if he finds a way to normalize economic policymaking. But even if the U.S. hits the 3 percent target, it might not be the panacea the Trump hopes it will be," he added.
Rogoff said that faster growth is unlikely to reverse the current trend toward inequality. And rich people are more likely to harvest the benefits of a faster economic growth rate.
"There is no reason to presume that owners of capital will not continue to be the main beneficiaries."
"Policies that produced more broadly shared and environmentally sustainable growth would be far better than policies that perpetuate current distributional trends and exacerbate many Americans' woes," he added.
