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.

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.

The euro was generally considered a success in its first decade. Nevertheless, the “unanticipated” financial crisis in the summer of 2007 has developed gradually into the worst global economic crisis in post-war economic history and a sovereign debt crisis, calling into question the endurance of positive externalities under the current form of European economic integration. The experience of double-dip recessions in the core of the euro-area and the occurrence of a deflationary spiral in its southern periphery brings into question the wisdom of fiscal consolidation via austerity in the adjustment programmes adopted to exit the crisis. They also put into doubt the adequacy and efficiency of the European Economic and Monetary Union’s core elements, its political instruments and macroeconomic assumptions, as can be seen in the role of the Stability and Growth Pact and the stance of the European Central Bank. The title of this collective volume refers to the country where the European sovereign debt crisis began, while its contents concentrate on the extent to which this crisis should be a national or a European concern. Moreover, the focus on Greece stimulates discussion about the neglected factor of the shadow economy and the potential to boost government revenue through its successful transfer to the formal economy. The chapters address the inefficiencies of both euro-area institutions and policies adopted to exit the current predicament. Experts from several disciplines review the literature and critically evaluate the existence of issues such as contagion effects, domino effects, deflationary spirals, institutional efficiency and the reality of the option to exit the euro-area.

Representing a unique contribution to the analysis and discussion of the unfolding Eurozone crisis in terms of the relationship between central and local government, this book addresses a number of important fiscal and political economy questions. To what extent have local and regional governments contributed to the crisis? To what degree have sub-national services and investments borne the brunt of the adjustments? How have multi-level fissures affected tensions between different levels of government from the supranational to the local? This volume covers these and many other critical issues that have been largely ignored despite their relevance. The book first addresses general issues of fiscal coordination and management across levels of government in the context of incentives, which can be altered by the existence of a supranational tier. The country-specific chapters, prepared by leading experts, provide a thorough review of the key problems of multi-levels of government in the biggest economies in the Eurozone (France and Germany) and Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece). In further chapters the juxtaposition of Barcelona and Turin provides an opportunity to evaluate large investments in a multi-level context, associated, in this case, with the Olympics. Macedonia provides a discussion of the related issues in an EU accession country. As a whole, the book explores the long-term impact of the crisis on local service delivery and investment, and the consequences for sustainable growth and political cohesion. It also offers rarely found insights and suggestions to increase the stability and strength of multi-level European institutions. This is an enlightening resource for all those, from academics and graduates to policy makers and practitioners, seeking a comprehensive understanding of European fiscal, federal and financial issues.

Despite the success of policymakers and the European Central Bank in calming down financial markets since the summer of 2012, European leaders are still facing formidable challenges in making the single currency work in a complex environment. This book starts with a review of the necessary elements of a currency union and highlights the reasons why the system has run into its present troubles. It points to important policy recommendations to be drawn from a structural analysis of the currency union, achievements and failures of the currency union and ways to improve fiscal sustainability and arrive at stable macroeconomic performance for the union. It highlights the importance and the effectiveness of structural reforms that have to accompany fiscal consolidation and discusses the appropriate tools of crisis management and why a restructuring of the Eurozone is not the right step. Based on these considerations, a long-term target picture for the Eurozone as a part of the EU is outlined, providing a valuable contribution to a hopefully intense public debate in the coming years.

In response to the global financial crisis, governments provided substantial support to the financial and other key sectors. Although this cushioned the adverse effects of the crisis, it is necessary now to articulate a strategy to ensure the sustainability of public finances. This paper discusses the scale and composition of fiscal adjustment that will need to occur once the recovery is securely under way. Although specific country-level circumstances will influence the composition of the adjustment and its political feasibility, in many cases restoring fiscal sustainability will require reforms to reduce spending and increase tax revenue.

The IMF’s Global Integrated Monetary and Fiscal model (GIMF) is used to examine the scope for structural reforms in the euro area to offset the negative impact of fiscal consolidation required to put public debt back on a sustainable path. The results suggest that structural reforms in core countries could quite reasonably be expected to offset the near term negative impact on activity arising from the required fiscal consolidation that uses a plausible mix of instruments to achieve the permanent improvement in the deficit. However, for the periphery, where the required consolidation is roughly twice as large as that required in the core, the results suggest that it would take several years before structural reforms could return the level of output back to its pre-consolidation path.