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It was literally cited by Britain's finance minister George Osborne as justification for UK government austerity:

> As Ken Rogoff himself puts it, "there's no question that the most significant vulnerability as we emerge from recession is the soaring government debt. It's very likely that will trigger the next crisis as governments have been stretched so wide."

https://web.archive.org/web/20100414205630/http://www.conser...

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People often cite papers which support their positions, but correlation does not necessarily imply causation, and the paper is rarely decisive.

Not the paper on its own, maybe, but it bolsters other arguments. If someone already wants austerity, an authoritative paper saying that's better will make them want austerity more, and gives them a strong argument in discussions with opponents, and may sway people who are unsure.

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