Does this Excel spreadsheet error invalidate the case for austerity?

A new academic paper suggests an influential study used to argue the case for austerity contains a number of flaws - including a simple Excel spreadsheet error.

Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff's 2010 study 'Growth in a Time of Debt' found economic growth goes into reverse when a country's public debt to GDP ratio exceeds 90%. The findings have subsequently been highlighted by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including European Commissioner Olli Rehn, as a reason for implementing stringent deficit reduction plans. Yesterday, however, a trio of economists said the study's methodology contains several flaws - including an Excel error which meant the relatively resilient GDP growth seen in debt-saddled Belgium was simply omitted fro...