Europe Managing the Crisis The politics of fiscal consolidation

The financial crisis has largely been studied by economists, but the diversity of European countries' response has both an economic and a political perspective. By exploring national responses not just in fiscal terms, but also from a political-administrative perspective, it reveals that decision making has been driven by political factors, leading to profound effects on public administration and management. Filling an important gap in the research literature for scholars of public management, public administration and policy, it will be a benchmark for future work on the global economic crisis.

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.

Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction 2. Fiscal Crisis and Consolidation 3. Analytical Framework Part II: Fiscal Consolidation 4. Fiscal Consolidation: Contents of Measures 5. Fiscal Consolidation: Decision Making Part III: Causes and Effects of Fiscal Consolidation 6. Explanations of Fiscal Consolidation 7. Effects of Fiscal Consolidation Part IV: Conclusions and Discussion 8. Conclusions and Discussion Appendix: Country Summaries of Economic, Fiscal and Political Data

Walter Kickert is Professor of public management at Erasmus University Rotterdam and has since 2006 been the scientific director of the Netherlands Institute of Government, the national inter-university research school of administrative and political sciences. He has carried out international comparative research of public management and administrative reform in European countries from 2006 until 2011andhe was deputy-editor of the international journal Public Administration. Tiina Randma-Liiv is Professor and Chair of Public Management and Public Policy at Tallinn University of Technology, and Fulbright Professor at Florida International University in 2014-2015. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) and is one of the leading scholars on public-management reforms in Central and Eastern Europe, and small-state research as well as on the impact of the Global Crisis on public administration.