Mark Blyth, author of Austerity: the History of a Dangerous Idea , argues that not only has the policy of slashing state spending so far failed to repair the economy, it can never work. Instead he proposes that economists take a version of the Hippocratic oath to 'do no harm'. He says that policymakers must examine the evidence of austerity's failure and not be afraid to change their minds before it's too late