Stiglitz, J. (2014) “Europe’s Austerity Disaster“, Social Europe Journal, 29 September.
“If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the theory,” goes the old adage. But too often it is easier to keep the theory and change the facts – or so German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other pro-austerity European leaders appear to believe. Though facts keep staring them in the face, they continue to deny reality.
Austerity has failed. But its defenders are willing to claim victory on the basis of the weakest possible evidence: the economy is no longer collapsing, so austerity must be working! But if that is the benchmark, we could say that jumping off a cliff is the best way to get down from a mountain; after all, the descent has been stopped.
But every downturn comes to an end. Success should not be measured by the fact that recovery eventually occurs, but by how quickly it takes hold and how extensive the damage caused by the slump.
Viewed in these terms, austerity has been an utter and unmitigated disaster, which has become increasingly apparent as European Union economies once again face stagnation, if not a triple-dip recession, with unemployment persisting at record highs and per capita real (inflation-adjusted) GDP in many countries remaining below pre-recession levels. In even the best-performing economies, such as Germany, growth since the 2008 crisis has been so slow that, in any other circumstance, it would be rated as dismal.
Relevant posts:
- Meyer, H. (2014) “Why European Progressives Stick To Austerity“, Social Europe Journal, 01 September.
- Pissarides, C. (2014) “Social Europe In A Climate Of Austerity, The Need For Social Dialogue To Improve Distribution“, Social Europe Journal, 23 June.
- Fazi, Τ. (2014) “It’s Time To Stand Up To Troika Austerity (Part II)“, Social Europe Journal, 19 June.