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2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
1. The Politics of Austerity: A Recent History
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Abstract
As recession follows the fiscal crash of 2007/8, governments struggle to rebalance their public finances as tax revenues plummet. Their response—spending cuts and tax rises—is derided by opponents as ‘austerity’, yet this is not the first time this measure has been applied. In this introduction to this two-part book, the first half of which is on the UK, and the second more global in concern, Michael Burton outlines recent case studies in the UK, the USA, Canada and Europe to see how governments manage public finances in recessions. He warns that demographic pressures leading to austerity will be with us for many decades to come.