Austerity Politics and UK Economic Policy (eBook)

Craig Berry is Deputy Director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Sheffield. He has worked previously at the Trades Union Congress, International Longevity Centre, HM Treasury and the University of Warwick. His research focuses on UK economic statecraft, with an emerging focus on Northern England in a European and global context.

Dedication 6
Acknowledgements 8
Contents 10
Abbreviations 12
chapter 1: Introduction: Austerity and Growth 14
Growth and Growth Models 15
The Rediscovery of Austerity 20
Chapter Outline and Main Arguments 24
References 27
chapter 2: Financialisation and the Property-Owning Autocracy 29
Austerity and the Housing Market 31
The Meaning of Monetary Activism 34
Financialisation and Everyday Discipline 38
Conclusion 42
Note 43
References 43
chapter 3: Industrial Decline and the Myth of Rebalancing 45
Rebalancing and Austerity 47
Industrial Policy and Manufacturing Since the Crisis 50
Powerhouse Politics 53
Conclusion 57
Note 59
References 59
chapter 4: Welfare Retrenchment and the Perversion of Full Employment 63
Employment Growth and Economic Recovery 65
The Impotence of Active Labour Market Policy 68
Austerity and Welfare 72
Conclusion 76
Notes 77
References 78
chapter 5: Deficit Reduction and Budget Irresponsibility 81
Austerity and Economics 84
Institutionalising Austerity 90
Conclusion 94
References 94
chapter 6: What’s Left? 98
Labour’s Disorientation 100
Corbynomics and the New Old Politics 106
Whither Social Democracy? 109
Conclusion 113
References 113
chapter 7: Conclusion 117
Austerity and Crisis 117
The UK Growth Model 119
And Finally 121
References 122
Index 123