A Thousand Cuts: Social Protection in the Age of Austerity

"The dominant policy response to economic crises over the past four decades has been the introduction of austerity. How has this mix of budget cuts and reforms to downsize the role of the state evolved over time? What affect has it had on social policies and on people's lives? This book examines the activities of the world's leading advocate of austerity: the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This international organization lends to countries facing economic trouble in exchange for the implementation of far-reaching austerity measures. Drawing on new data, the authors reveal that although the precise content of IMF-mandated austerity has changed considerably over time, the organization continues to place a high burden of reform on countries in crisis. These reforms then decrease the availability of important social services, and contribute to rises in income inequality and declines in population health. These findings form the first systematic assessment of how austerity has impacted people's lives and livelihoods around the world. Will such policy mistakes be avoided in the post-pandemic world? The early evidence presented in this book do not raise grounds for optimism. Public expenditure projections reveal that by 2023, 86 out of 189 countries-mostly middle-income ones-will face contractions in government spending compared to their 2010s average, thereby exposing a cumulative total of 2.3 billion people to the socio-economic consequences of budget cuts"--