The Politics of Austerity

"Michael Burton's book explains in clear prose how different governments in various countries have sought to manage public finances during the recessions of the last few years. It is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the meaning of austerity and assess its impacts." (George Jones, Emeritus Professor of Government, London School of Economics, UK) "This book covers the crucial challenge of governments, namely managing public finances during recessions, which is one of the key policy problems of our age." (Rob Whiteman FCPFA, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, UK) "This is an excellent and readable overview of how governments in the UK have controlled spending in recent decades, and what happened in the run up to the recession and since. By comparing the UK's experience with that of other countries it is a valuable addition to our understanding. It deserves to be widely read." (Paul Johnson, Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK)

This book considers the relationship between public spending and public deficit and the varying successes and difficulties governments have had in recent years to balance the two.

This book considers the relationship between public spending and public deficit and the varying successes and difficulties governments have had in recent years to balance the two. As the fiscal crash of 2007/8 turned into the Great Recession and tax revenues tumbled, public finances across the UK, the USA and Europe plunged into deficit. Controversial attempts by governments to balance their budgets, commonly described as austerity by critics, had mixed success, politically and economically. Michael Burton outlines how politicians tackled the worst economic downturn in over half a century, drawing on previous examples of deficit-reduction to see how governments managed public finances in recessions and where austerity worked and where it failed. This two-part book, which for the first time provides an historical context to austerity, analyses firstly deficit-reduction in the UK in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010-2016, and then looks at case studies in Europe, the USA, Canada and Asia Pacific. The author concludes that with the ageing population placing greater pressure through health and pensions on the public finances of the developed world, politicians and their electorates will have to learn to live long-term with austerity.