Nariman Behravesh , Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight , Kenneth Rogoff , Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Harvard University; and Nouriel Roubini , Professor of Economics and International Business, New York University, and Chairman, RGE Monitor , spoke about the state of the economy recently at an event sponsored by CERA (Cambridge Energy Research Associates). The three were in agreement on most issues: they think the economy is going to remain bad for the rest of 2009, and they support the stimulus efforts of the US government, though economic recovery will depend on several other factors and the stimulus plan is not going to do the job on its own. Amid all the gloom, Behravesh takes care to point out that, as bad as things are, this is not the Great Depression, and it may not even be as bad as Japan's crisis during the 1990s. You can watch the full discussion here .