Introduction: Austerity and Growth

Abstract

‘Growth model’ is an analytical concept which designates the main sources of economic growth within a given economy, the orientation of institutions configured to enable the associated economic activities, and, crucially, patterns of wealth distribution which sustain certain economic and political practices. The ‘neoliberal’ or ‘Anglo-liberal’ growth model evident in the UK before the financial crisis built upon longstanding traditions within the UK economy and economic policy practice, such as the centrality of the finance sector, fiscal conservatism, international openness, low taxation, and limited employment protection. UK policy elites have acted to rescue this model since the 2008 crisis, and the ‘austerity’ agenda pursued by the coalition and Conservative governments since 2010 has served to reinforce many of its intellectual, behavioural, and distributional foundations.