Spending cuts threaten ambitions to host ITER

This chapter draws on historical statistics reporting financial outcomes for spending, taxation, debt, and deficit for the UK over a century to (a) identify quantitatively and compare the main fiscal squeeze episodes (i.e. major revenue increases, spending cuts, or both) in terms of type (soft squeezes and hard squeezes, spending squeezes, and revenue squeezes), depth, and length; (b) compare these periods of austerity against measures of fiscal consolidation in terms of deficit reduction; and (c) identify economic and financial conditions before and after the various squeezes. It explores the extent to which the identification of squeeze episodes and their classification is sensitive to which thresholds are set and what data sources are used. The chapter identifies major changes over time that emerge from this analysis over the changing depth and types of squeeze.

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Welfare Reform in Greece

10.1093/oso/9780198790266.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Petmesidou

Keyword(s):

Sovereign Debt ◽

Global Financial Crisis ◽

Debt Crisis ◽

Refugee Crisis ◽

Social Investment ◽

New Parties ◽

Future Direction ◽

The Global Financial Crisis ◽

Spending Cuts ◽

Large Sections

Greece developed a pension-heavy, clientelist, hybrid Mediterranean welfare state with many gaps in coverage. The global financial crisis of 2008 triggered a severe sovereign debt crisis, compelling the country to accept three bailout packages with stringent conditions as to spending cuts, privatization, and openness to international competition. Severe austerity has caused a protracted recession: the economy lost more than a quarter of its GDP between 2008 and 2015. The Mediterranean refugee crisis impacted severely on the country. New parties of the extreme left (SYRIZA) and extreme right (Golden Dawn) have gained support. SYRIZA was elected on an anti-austerity platform but failed to deliver and a fourth rescue package is under negotiation. The more likely future direction consists in an ever-tighter austerity programme with the immizeration of large sections of the population. A move towards neo-Keynesian intervention and social investment seems unlikely, given the level of debt and the bailout conditions.

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Beyond the austerity-driven hypothesis: Political economic theses on penality and the recent prison population decline

European Journal of Criminology ◽

10.1177/14773708211000640 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147737082110006

Author(s):

José A. Brandariz

Keyword(s):

Prison Population ◽

Population Decline ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

The Past ◽

Economic Forces ◽

Global North ◽

Economic Perspectives ◽

Political Economic ◽

The Impact ◽

Spending Cuts

In what might be called the ‘austerity-driven hypothesis’, a consistent strand of literature has sought to explain the prison downsizing witnessed in many jurisdictions of the global north over the past decade by referring to the financial crisis of the late 2000s to early 2010s and its effects in terms of public spending cuts. Since this economic phase is essentially over, whereas the (moderate) decarceration turn is still ongoing, there are good reasons to challenge this hypothesis. This article delves into the non-economic forces that are fostering a prison population decline that, 10 years on, is becoming the new ‘penal normal’. The article thereby aims to spark a dialogue not only with the scholarship exploring the prison downsizing but also with certain theoretical frameworks that have played a key role in examining the punitive turn era. Additionally, the article contributes to the conversation on the need to reframe materialist readings on penality in a ‘non-reductionist’ fashion. By revisiting heterodox theses and scrutinizing the impact of recent penal changes on traditional materialist accounts, the article joins the collective endeavour seeking to update political economic perspectives on punishment and the penal field.

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Social Policies and Center-Right Governments in Argentina and Chile

Latin American Politics and Society ◽

10.1017/s1531426x00010281 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (03) ◽

pp. 72-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sara Niedzwiecki ◽

Jennifer Pribble

Keyword(s):

Social Policy ◽

Executive Branch ◽

Welfare States ◽

Cash Transfers ◽

Policy Reforms ◽

Left Turn ◽

The Past ◽

Poverty And Inequality ◽

Left Party ◽

Spending Cuts

AbstractLatin America's “left turn” expanded cash transfers and public services, contributing to lower poverty and inequality. Recently, right-leaning candidates and parties have begun to win back seats in the legislature, and in some cases have captured the executive branch. This shift has sparked debate about the future of Latin America's welfare states. This article analyzes social policy reforms enacted by two recent right-leaning governments: that of Sebastián Piñera in Chile (2010–14) and Mauricio Macri in Argentina (2015–). It finds that contrary to neoliberal adjustment policies of the past, neither Macri nor Piñera engaged in privatization or deep spending cuts. Instead, both administrations facilitated a process of policy drift in some sectors and marginal expansion in others. Policy legacies and the strength of the opposition help to explain these outcomes, suggesting that Latin America's political context has been transformed by the consolidation of democracy and the experience of left party rule.

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Fiscal consolidation in a currency union: Spending cuts vs. tax hikes

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control ◽

10.1016/j.jedc.2012.09.012 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 422-445 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Christopher J. Erceg ◽

Jesper Lindé

Keyword(s):

Currency Union ◽

Fiscal Consolidation ◽

Spending Cuts

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The new Zambian president faces long-term challenges

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db264234 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

National Development ◽

Social Costs ◽

Debt Restructuring ◽

Content Type ◽

Fiscal Constraints ◽

Reform Programme ◽

The Social ◽

Voter Suppression ◽

Spending Cuts

Significance Hichilema's surprise win came despite extensive voter suppression and intimidation attributed to former President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) against supporters of Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND). Impacts The broad scope of Hichilema’s reform programme will pose difficulties of prioritisation, particularly within current fiscal constraints. Higher copper prices may mitigate some of the social costs associated with debt restructuring and spending cuts. The cancellation of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Hichilema over LGBT rights concerns may complicate relations with Washington.

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Alliance Participation, Treaty Depth, and Military Spending

International Studies Quarterly ◽

10.1093/isq/sqab077 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Alley

Keyword(s):

Empirical Evidence ◽

Research Design ◽

Military Spending ◽

Central Question ◽

Alliance Politics ◽

Military Expenditures ◽

Defense Cooperation ◽

The Impact ◽

Spending Cuts

Abstract How does alliance participation affect military spending? Some argue that alliance membership increases military expenditures, while others contend that it produces spending cuts. I argue that deep formal defense cooperation modifies the impact of alliance participation on military expenditures and can explain increases and decreases in spending by small alliance members. Security-seeking junior members of deep alliances usually decrease military spending because these treaties are more credible. Joining shallow alliances often increases junior alliance member military spending, however. I test the argument by creating a latent measure of alliance treaty depth and using it to predict differences in how alliance participation affects military spending. The research design generates new empirical evidence linking alliance participation and percentage changes in state military spending from 1919 to 2007. I find that deeper alliance treaties tend to decrease military spending by junior alliance members, and shallow alliances often increase military spending. These results help scholars and policymakers better understand a central question about alliance politics that has been debated in scholarship for decades.

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