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This book sheds new light on if and why, between 2009 and 2015, European governments succeeded or failed in initiating and actually realizing some of the farthest-reaching austerity plans in modern history. The author analyzes the economic and political context and the underlying causes of austerity and economic adjustment packages during the Euro crisis. In doing so, he shows that austerity has its roots in an institutional mismatch between capitalist diversity in the Eurozone on the one hand, and an ill-conceived common economic regime on the other. In this context, austerity trumped politics, and even democracy itself. The book will appeal to scholars of political science and comparative political economy, as well as governmental policymakers and practitioners in the finance sector.
List of contents
Introduction.- Fiscal Adjustment in Europe.- Theoretical Framework: Austerity's Institutional Origins.- Empirical Analysis: Intra-EMU Heterogeneity & Austerity.- Adjustment by Force: The Realization of Austerity.- Conclusion.
About the author
Kai Guthmann is an independent scholar of comparative political economy and European studies, and an entrepreneur based in Bern, Switzerland. In 2018 he received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Bern. He has also studied at the University of Konstanz, Rutgers University, and Princeton University, and holds an MA in Politics and Public Administration (Konstanz) and a Master of Public Affairs and Politics (Rutgers).
