The work of Reinhart and Rogoff was a major reason for the push for austerity at a time when expansionary policy was called for, i.e. their work supported the bad idea that austerity during a recession can actually be stimulative. It isn't as the events in Europe have shown conclusively. To be fair, as I discussed here (in "Austerity Can Wait for Sunnier Days") after watching Reinhart give a talk

The Minneapolis Fed interviews Robert Hall. He covers quite a few topics such as the Fed's exit strategy, looting distressed banks, financial frictions, and the state of modern macro. At one point, he notes that his (zero interest rate) estimate of the government spending multiplier is 1.7: Interview with Robert Hall, by Douglas Clement, The Region, FRB Minneapolis: ...Thoughts on U.S. Monetary Po

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