Over the course of the last three years, Europe has changed beyond anybody's reckoning. And it has all been because of one thing, one overriding necessity forced on the people by the political class of a continent: austerity. The theory goes that growth slows when a country's debt rises above 90 percent of its GDP. In other words, too much debt means the economy cannot grow. And the theory seemed sound. So sound, in fact, that it is used by politicians - mostly in Europe - to slash their spending leading to mass unemployment, anaemic growth and struggling economies. But it does not seem to be working in Europe. And according to findings by a 28-year old graduate student, the premise upon which austerity theory was based is flawed.