The Economics of the Austerity Crisis: Unpicking Some Human Rights Arguments

Abstract

Austerity is now the pervasive context of public policy across the advanced economies, and it is having clear negative impacts upon areas of spending such as welfare that are generally closely aligned with a states’ socio-economic human rights obligations. As a result, there has been huge concern expressed among the human rights community as to the impact of austerity policies on human rights, and a general sense that these states are undermining their level of compliance with international obligations by cutting spending. This article examines the current debt and demographic situation of the advanced economies to understand the policy imperative for austerity. It then scrutinizes four common arguments made by human rights lawyers about current austerity policies against the backdrop of fiscal reality. It argues that the current fiscal situation of the advanced economies and the dynamic of an ageing population paint a more nuanced human rights picture that raises pointed questions about the relevance and interpretation of international human rights law in the current policy context. It points to a need to take a broader, longer term approach to understanding states’ core human rights obligations.