Recommended readings (Machine generated): Alesina, A. and S. Ardagna (1998) 'Tales of Fiscal Adjustment', Economic Policy, October: 489-545 -- Alesina, A. and R. Perotti (1995) 'Fiscal Expansion and Adjustments in OECD Countries', Economic Policy, 10 (21): 205-48 -- Alesina, A. and R. Perotti...

The 2007/8 financial crisis has reignited the debate about austerity economics and revealed that it remains a highly contested, yet poorly understood idea. This article locates the debate in its historical context, tracing it from the early 18th and 19th century Classical debates, which focused...

The 2007/8 financial crisis has reignited the debate about economic austerity. With the aim of understanding why a government would pursue such a policy in the current context of persistent economic recession, this article traces the social, political and economic developments that have together...