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Fiscal politics in time: pathways to fiscal consolidation, 1980-2012
Author(s)
Date Issued
2012-12
Date Available
2013-04-08T14:08:48Z
Abstract
The comparative study of debt and fiscal consolidation has acquired a new focus in the wake of the global financial crisis. This leads us to re-evaluate the literature on fiscal consolidation that flourished during the 1980s and 1990s. The conventional approach segments episodes of fiscal change into discrete observations. We argue that this misses the dynamic features of government strategy, especially in the choices made
between expenditure-based and revenue-based fiscal consolidation strategies. We
propose a focus on pathways rather than episodes of adjustment, to recapture
what Pierson terms 'politics in time'. A case-study approach facilitates
analysis of complex causality that includes the structures of interest
intermediation, the role of ideas in shaping the set of feasible policy choices,
and the situation of national economies in the international political economy.
We support our argument with qualitative data based on two case studies,
Ireland and Greece, and with additional paired comparisons of Ireland with
Britain, and Greece with Spain.
Type of Material
Working Paper
Publisher
University College Dublin. Geary Institute
Series
UCD Geary Institute Discussion Paper Series
WP2012/28
Language
English
Status of Item
Not peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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