Policy Press

The Changing Politics and Policy of Austerity

Edited by Stephen McBride, Bryan Evans and Dieter Plehwe

Published

Sep 30, 2021

Page count

326 pages

ISBN

978-1447359517

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 30, 2021

Page count

326 pages

ISBN

978-1447359524

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Sep 30, 2021

Page count

326 pages

ISBN

978-1447359524

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
The Changing Politics and Policy of Austerity

This collection of original essays explores the myriad expressions of austerity since the 2008 financial crisis.

Case studies drawn from Canada, Australia and the European Union provide extensive comparative analysis of fiscal consolidation and the varied political responses against austerity. Contributions examine such themes as privatization, class mobilization and resistance, the crisis of liberal democracy and the rise of the far right.

The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in shaping future austerity and alternatives is signalled. Given the rapidly shifting terrain, this comprehensive handbook provides important insights into a complex and fast-changing period of politics and policy.

"After more than a decade and a pandemic, crisis-induced austerity persists in shaping the political and economic landscape. This thought-provoking collection shines critical light on how and why." Zoë Irving, University of York

Stephen McBride is Canada Research Chair in Public Policy and Globalization and Professor in the Department of Political Science at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

Bryan Evans is Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.

Dieter Plehwe is Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Civil Society Research, WZB, Berlin Social Science Center and Privatdozent (Private Lecturer) in the Department of Political Science at the University of Kassel, Germany.

Introduction: The changing politics and policy of austerity - Bryan Evans, Stephen McBride and Dieter Plehwe

Part 1: Austerity and the promotion of the private

1. Beyond austerity: pro-public strategies versus public-private partnerships scandals - Heather Whiteside

2. Institutionalizing austerity accounting in Europe: The implementation of European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) as crisis response - Sebastian Botzem

Part 2: Coping and casualties: Labour and the social

3. A fragile triangle: Collective bargaining systems, trade unions and the state in the EU - Steffen Lehndorff

4. Privatizing the sacrifice: Individualized funding, austerity and precarity in the voluntary sector in Australia and Scotland - Donna Baines, Ian Cunningham, Philip James and Chandrima Roy

5. Austerity and the social innovation agenda - Meghan Joy, John Shields, Sharon Broughton and Siu Mee Cheng

Part 3: Beyond coping: Protest, pathologies and the development of real alternatives

6. Politics as an alternative to constitutionalization - Stephen McBride and Joy Schnittker

7. There could be alternatives! German economic advisory councils and the institutional reproduction of austerity economics - Dieter Plehwe and Moritz Neujeffski

8. Negotiated austerity? A comparative survey of social concertation in Canada, Denmark, Ireland and Spain - Bryan Evans, Stephen McBride and James Watson

9. Market populism, its right-wing offspring and left alternatives - Ingo Schmidt

10. Austerity-induced populism: the rise and transformation of the new right - Hans-Jürgen Bieling

11. Reducing the burden: International struggles against illegitimate debt - Christoph Sorg

12. The crisis next time: the GFC and the continuing fragility of capitalism - Jim Stanford

13. Austerity after COVID-19: Towards inclusive economic governance in Europe - Hans-Jürgen Urban and Sebastian Bödeker

14 Conclusion - Stephen McBride, Dieter Plehwe and Bryan Evans