This book, edited and researched by experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), looks at fiscal adjustment plans in advanced economies, comparing the planned or projected reductions in debts and deficits to the actual outcomes. It also looks at whether spending exceeded expectations or...

Front -- Contents -- Introduction -- Austere ideas for austere societies from Aristotle to Aquinas -- Austerity v. reason from Mandeville to Voltaire -- Austerity for capitalism from Smith to Weber -- Austerity for stability from the Great War to the next -- Austerity can wait Keynes --...