Europe Managing the Crisis - The politics of fiscal consolidation

Studies of the recent financial crisis have been largely dominated by economists, but the similarities and differences between European countries' response reflect both economic and political perspectives which have resulted in considerable differences in their decisions. Drawing on uniquely comprehensive research data, this book presents an in-depth comparative analysis of how 14 European governments tackled the challenge of fiscal consolidation, and analyses the political decision-making behind these measures. By exploring national responses not just in fiscal terms, but also from a political perspective, it reveals that decision making has been driven by political factors with profound effects on public administration and management. This ground-breaking book fills an important gap in the research literature for scholars of public management, public administration and policy, and will be a benchmark for future work on the global economic crisis.

Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction 2. Fiscal Crisis and Consolidation 3. Analytical Framework Part II: Fiscal Consolidation 4. Fiscal Consolidation: Contents of Measures 5. Fiscal Consolidation: Decision Making Part III: Causes and Effects of Fiscal Consolidation 6. Explanations of Fiscal Consolidation 7. Effects of Fiscal Consolidation Part IV: Conclusions and Discussion 8. Conclusions and Discussion Appendix: Country Summaries of Economic, Fiscal and Political Data