ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Nobel Prize laureates, John Nash Jr. and Robert Aumann, expressed doubts Wednesday about official efforts to solve Europe's financial ills and Greece's problems in particular.

Both men responded to questions on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum, an annual gathering of economists, academics, business leaders and government ministers from more than 80 nations.

Nash, a Princeton mathematician who won the Nobel Prize in economics, said, "The problem is the Euro. The Euro was an attempt to introduce something good, but maybe it's not the right thing. What's good for the Euro might cause trouble for countries like Spain and Greece."

Aumann, an Israeli who is also a Nobel Prize economist, said, "I don't think austerity measures are the right solution. The Greek people do not want austerity measures.  The Greek prime minister said the right way to stimulate growth is to lend more money. Well, let him lend the money himself.  Let him make a private consortium. Let the Greeks raise money wherever they can. The Greeks have to realize they have a problem. Everybody else realizes it."

Both men also had doubts about use of gold as an investment refuge from global currency turmoil.

Nash said, "Gold is speculative. It was worth more earlier than it is now. It might be better to hold land."

Aumann said, "You can't eat gold. Gold can go up and down in price. There is no such thing as a safe haven."

Eleven Nobel Prize winners – most of them laureates in economics – are speaking at this year's event. Other notables at the event include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, and top officials from multinationals such as JP Morgan Chase, Exxon Mobil and GE.

The Astana forum is also heavy with participation from developing nations, and comes at a time of rapid economic expansion in Kazakhstan.

Aumann said of the Central Asian nation, "The advantage of Kazakhstan is that it is a country at peace with its neighbors and the whole world. I wish the U.S. would be that way, that Israel would be that way, that Iran would be that way. Kazakhstan has tremendous leverage to do good."

SOURCE Astana Economic Forum

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