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Fiscal Politics In Time: Pathways to Fiscal Consolidation, 1980-2012

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  • Sebastian Dellepiane

    (School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Ireland)

  • Niamh Hardiman

    (UCD School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, Ireland)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Dellepiane & Niamh Hardiman, 2012. "Fiscal Politics In Time: Pathways to Fiscal Consolidation, 1980-2012," Working Papers 201228, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201228
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    2. Philippe Burger & Estian Calitz, 2021. "Covid‐19, Economic Growth and South African Fiscal Policy," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(1), pages 3-24, March.
    3. Vítor Castro, 2018. "Functional components of public expenditure, fiscal consolidations, and economic activity," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 124-150, March.
    4. Niamh Hardiman & Muiris MacCarthaigh, 2013. "How Governments Retrench In Crisis: The Case of Ireland," Working Papers 201315, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    5. Niamh Hardiman, 2013. "Rethinking the political economy of fiscal consolidation in two recessions in Ireland," Working Papers 201316, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    6. Sebastian Dellepiane-Avellaneda & Niamh Hardiman, 2015. "Paying for the Welfare State in the European Periphery," Working Papers 201520, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    7. Vitor Castro, 2016. "On the behaviour of the functional components ofgovernment expenditures during fiscal consolidations," NIPE Working Papers 11/2016, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    8. Alberto Vaquero-García & María Cadaval-Sampedro & Santiago Lago-Peñas, 2022. "Do Political Factors Affect Fiscal Consolidation? Evidence From Spanish Regional Governments," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    9. Aidan Regan & Samuel Brazys, 2017. "Celtic phoenix or leprechaun economics? The politics of an FDI led growth model in Europe," Working Papers 201701, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.

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