Abstract
Austerity is the simultaneous compression of public expenditure and the expansion of taxation of the public to satisfy the demands of international creditors. After a credit-fuelled asset bubble burst in 2007, the Irish economy experienced significant austerity from April 2008 to January 2014. The economy recovered, with the public finances recording a primary surplus in January 2020, months before COVID began. Ireland is often presented as a poster child for austerity and has been used as an exemplar for this suite of policies in subsequent crises around the world. This exemplar status does not consider the unique structure of the Irish economy, which allowed a compression of domestic demand while keeping tax revenues from corporations high, nor does it consider the social impacts of the crisis, notably on poverty, homelessness, and especially child poverty. This chapter looks at the interaction of macro-economic imbalances and micro-economic outcomes to tease these important issues apart and draw out relevant policy implications.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Researching Poverty and Austerity |
Subtitle of host publication | Theoretical Approaches, Methodologies and Policy Applications |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
Pages | 145-160 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781003803829 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781032127774 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2024 |