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

Author
Hood, Christopher, 1947- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Εdition
First edition.
Published/​Created
  • Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2017.
  • ©2017
Description
xii, 248 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks HJ1023 .H693 2017 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Author
    Summary note
    This volume 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.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-239) and index.
    Contents
    • Machine generated contents note: pt. I Background and Overview
    • 1. Setting the Scene: The Politics of Austerity and Fiscal Squeeze
    • 2. UK Fiscal Squeezes over a Century: A Summary Comparison
    • pt. 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
    • 4. 1930s Squeeze: From Revenue Squeeze to Spending Squeeze via Political Crisis
    • 5. World War II and Post-War Labour Austerity
    • 6. 'Stop-Go' Squeezes of the 1950s and 1960s
    • 7. 1970s Fiscal Squeeze: Stagflation, Recession, Currency Crisis, and Political Crisis
    • 8. Rolling Back the State? Fiscal Squeeze, Thatcher-Style
    • 9. Fiscal Squeeze in the 1990s: Tales of the Unexpected
    • 10. After the 2008 Financial Crash: The Early 2010s
    • pt. III Patterns and Lessons
    • 11. Conclusions: From the Past to the Future of Fiscal Squeeze.
    ISBN
    • 9780198779612 ((hardcover))
    • 0198779615 ((hardcover))
    LCCN
    2016958130
    OCLC
    962552291
    Statement on language in description
    Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...
    Other views
    Staff view