Global policy makers and economists are staging a retrial of austerity as new evidence arises.

Facing another slowdown in the world economy, the U.S. and International Monetary Fund are pitched against the euro area and U.K. over whether axing budgets and debt is the recipe for recovery or recession. In academia, professors Kenneth Rogoff and Paul Krugman remain at odds.

The dispute, which led to finger-pointing and a fight over setting new debt targets at weekend talks of finance chiefs in Washington, is getting a re-airing as economic data from the U.S. to Europe undershoot estimates. Research co-written by Rogoff that has been used to justify cuts has come under scrutiny.