A century of fiscal squeeze politics : 100 years of austerity, politics, and bureaucracy in Britain / Christopher Hood and Rozana Himaz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hood, Christopher, 1947- author.

Himaz, Rozana, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fiscal policy--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Fiscal policy.

Taxation--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Taxation.

Expenditures, Public.

History.

Great Britain--Appropriations and expenditures--History--20th century.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--Politics and government--20th century.

Politics and government.

Great Britain--Economic conditions--20th century.

Economic conditions.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 248 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Summary:

"This book identifies and compares 'fiscal squeezes' (major efforts to cut public spending and/or raise taxes) in the UK over a century from 1900 to 2015. The authors examine how different the politics of fiscal squeeze and austerity is today from what it was a century ago, how (if at all) fiscal squeezes reshaped the state and the provision of public services, and how political credit and blame played out after austerity episodes. The analysis is both quantitative and qualitative, starting with reported financial outcomes from historical statistics and then going behind those numbers to explore the political choices and processes in play. This analysis identifies some patterns that have not been explained or even recognized in earlier works on retrenchment and austerity. For example, it identifies a long term shift from what it terms a 'surgery without anaesthetics' approach (deep but short-lived episodes of spending restraint or tax increases) in the earlier part of the period towards a 'boiling frogs' approach (episodes in which the pain is spread out over a longer period) in more recent decades. It also identifies a curious reduction of revenue-led squeezes in more recent decades, and a puzzle over why blame-avoidance logic only outsourcingsurcing painful decisions over squeeze in a minority of cases. Furthermore, the volume's distinctive approach to classifying types of fiscal squeezes and qualitatively assessing their intensity seeks to solve the puzzle as to why voter 'punishment' of governments that impose austerity policies seems to be so erratic."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I Background and Overview

1 Setting the Scene: The Politics of Austerity and Fiscal Squeeze 3

2 UK Fiscal Squeezes over a Century: A Summary Comparison 23

Part II Selected Periods of Fiscal Squeeze over a Century

3 World War I and the 1920s: From Tax Squeeze through Double Squeeze to Spending Squeeze 41

4 The 1930s Squeeze: From Revenue Squeeze to Spending Squeeze via Political Crisis 60

5 World War II and Post-War Labour Austerity 80

6 The 'Stop-Go' Squeezes of the 1950s and 1960s 100

7 The 1970s Fiscal Squeeze: Stagflation, Recession, Currency Crisis, and Political Crisis 120

8 Rolling Back the State? Fiscal Squeeze, Thatcher-Style 140

9 Fiscal Squeeze in the 1990s: Tales of the Unexpected 160

10 After the 2008 Financial Crash: The Early 2010s 180

Part III Patterns and Lessons

11 Conclusions: From the Past to the Future of Fiscal Squeeze 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-239) and index.

ISBN:

9780198779612

0198779615

OCLC:

962552291