Impact Of Austerity Research Articles

The impact of austerity on the delivery of an NHS mentalisation-based therapy service

Historically, a group of people experiencing distress were largely viewed by health services as untreatable, because of a chronic sense of mistrust and difficulties in being cared for. This group of people have attracted labels such as ‘Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder’ and ‘Complex Emotional Needs’. However, the recent developments in so-called evidenced-based psychological treatments offer hope that these patients can ‘recover’, or what one therapy has called ‘a life worth living’. It follows that these newer psychological treatments hold the promise of keeping hope alive, that even the most traumatised and disturbed people may be coached into functioning, and, perhaps more cynically, to reduce their burden on already-stretched health services. This cultural shift towards optimism is not the target of the paper. Instead, this paper offers an insider clinician’s perspective to outline how austerity has negatively affected the capacity to offer care and containment to patients presenting with life-threatening behaviours.

'If It Was Easy Somebody Would Have Fixed It': An Exploration of Loneliness and Social Isolation Amongst People Who Frequently Call Ambulance Services.

The aim of the study was to explore social isolation and loneliness in those who frequently contacted the ambulance service, what factors contributed to this and how unmet needs could be addressed. Semi-structured interviews with staff from the ambulance service and service users who were identified as frequently contacting the ambulance service. Service users also completed the UCLA loneliness scale and personal community maps. Data were analysed thematically before triangulation with the UCLA loneliness scale and personal community maps. The final analysis was drawn from 15 staff and seven service user participants. The relationship between social isolation and loneliness and contacting the ambulance service was a contributing, but not the driving, factor in contacting the ambulance service. For service users, we identified three key themes: (1) impact on activities of daily living and loneliness and/or isolation as a result of a health condition; (2) accessing appropriate health and social care services to meet needs; (3) the link between social isolation and/or loneliness and contact with the ambulance service. The analysis of staff data also highlighted three key themes: (1) social isolation and/or loneliness in their role; (2) access to other appropriate health and social care services; (3) the impact of austerity and Covid-19 on social isolation and/or loneliness. Our research emphasises the complex nature of social isolation and loneliness, including the cyclic nature of poor health and social isolation and loneliness, and how this contributes to contact with the ambulance service. The advisory group for the study was supported by a public and patient representative who contributed to the design of the study documentation, data analysis and authorship.

The impact of austerity on children: Uncovering effect heterogeneity by political, economic, and family factors in low- and middle-income countries

Which children are most vulnerable when their government imposes austerity? Research tends to focus on either the political-economic level or the family level. Using a sample of nearly two million children in 67 countries, this study synthesizes theories from family sociology and political science to examine the heterogeneous effects on child poverty of economic shocks following the implementation of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. To discover effect heterogeneity, we apply machine learning to policy evaluation. We find that children's average probability of falling into poverty increases by 14 percentage points. We find substantial effect heterogeneity, with family wealth and governments' education spending as the two most important moderators. In contrast to studies that emphasize the vulnerability of low-income families, we find that middle-class children face an equally high risk of poverty. Our results show that synthesizing family and political factors yield deeper knowledge of how economic shocks affect children.

Austere futures: From hardship to hope?

AbstractThis paper reflects on the enduring significance of austerity and its multifaceted influence on society. It emphasises the stark contrast between the promise of future prosperity, used to justify spending cuts and tax increases in the aftermath of the 2008 crash and recession, and the long‐lasting ramifications of these measures in terms of increasing poverty and growing inequality. Drawing from studies in this Themed Section of The Geographical Journal, as well as my own research on the impact of austerity on care workers, the paper elucidates how fiscal consolidation has further dismantled social safety nets and reduced the accessibility of institutions and places that have traditionally nurtured and supported emotional and physical wellbeing. This negatively affects individuals' quality of life, as well as their opportunities for growth and fulfilment. It also risks the prospects of future generations as the institutional and personal legacies of austerity intertwine with ongoing policy developments. Against this backdrop, there are, however, efforts to envision and enact alternative futures. Glimpses of hope are found in collective action and imaginative practices that challenge exclusionary systems, thereby helping to reconfigure the landscape of post‐welfare states. These glimpses of an alternative future, rooted in compassion and solidarity, foster a nuanced understanding of futurity and ignite prefigurative politics. The paper therefore discusses contrasting visions of austerity's future, building from alternative ways of organising lives and nurturing transformative imaginaries in the aftermath of austerity.

The electoral risks of austerity

AbstractDoes austerity influence incumbent support? Existing studies struggle with conceptualizing the evolution of austerity's impact over time, estimating a causal effect, and analysing the reactions of different voters. This study theorizes that the effect of austerity on electoral preferences is not immediate, but gradual, as voters find out about the measures' consequences via the media. It leverages a survey in the field at the time of the austerity announcement in Romania in 2010, additional survey data collected immediately after this event and comprehensive daily media coverage to show that austerity measures do not have an immediate impact on incumbent support, anticipated turnout and expressing a vote preference. Instead, there is a gradual effect that is associated with increased media attention to budgetary cuts. This natural experiment allows the estimation of the immediate causal effect of austerity on electoral intentions. Difference‐in‐differences (DID) models show that the announcement triggered a massive loss of support for the incumbent among those who had voted for the party in power only a few months before. Austerity also led to the demobilization of the governing party's supporters. There is no evidence that those most directly affected by the spending cuts are more likely to punish the incumbent party.

Aged spaces in an era of austerity: Food bank use by older people

AbstractIn the context of austerity and the COVID‐19 pandemic, this paper draws on 17 interviews conducted with frontline staff and volunteers to explore the use of food banks by older people in a highly deprived North‐West borough. Despite high levels of poverty amongst this age group, older people are infrequent users of food banks and it is their absence from these spaces, as opposed to their use of and experiences within food banks, that has often gained attention. By foregrounding this age group, this paper highlights different circumstances of use, generational dynamics involving heightened feelings of shame, and how food banks function as social spaces for older people. In doing so, this paper adds to literature in gerontology around spaces of ageing, as well as research on food banks, by highlighting how experiences in these spaces are differentiated by age. This paper advances discussions around the impact of austerity on the everyday lives of older people. Due to the timing of this research, it also gives insight into how older people and informal social spaces have been affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Women's leadership and the gendered consequences of austerity in the public sector: Evidence from IMF programs

AbstractDuring times of economic turmoil, women often bear the cost of cuts in public spending and labor market deregulation. We argue that the adverse gendered consequences of austerity are mitigated when women occupy more political leadership positions. We test our argument using two independent sources of evidence. First, we use cross‐country time‐series data for 95 countries from 2000 to 2018 on public‐sector employment outcomes and panel regressions to show that women leaders mitigate the adverse consequences of IMF programs for women in the public sector. Second, we use individual‐level data from the World Values Surveys covering 50 countries from 2004 to 2015 to show that women in the public sector are more likely to fear job loss and endure income loss under IMF programs when the women share in the government of their country is low but that these adverse effects disappear once women are represented in the government. These results have important implications for debates on women's leadership as well as the impact of austerity on the public sector.

The impact of austerity: spending cuts, coping strategies and institutional change in the case of French defense policy

ABSTRACT While much scholarship takes austerity-driven spending cuts as evidence of policy change, this paper shifts the focus to interrogate whether these budgetary cuts lead to actual policy change and if so how. Scholarships on institutional change and public policy illuminate how state actors mediate policy change through coping strategies, i.e. strategies by which state actors try to minimize budget decreases’ negative impacts on policy. Taking French Defense Policy as an unlikely case of policy change, we show that state actors have adopted three types of coping strategies to minimize the spending cuts’ impact: compensation, delaying, and re-categorizing acquisition procedures. These coping strategies have however contributed to a process of incremental change, which most of time is non-cumulative and creates additional policy problems. This article contributes to a better understanding of change underway in defense policies, but also more generally to literatures pertaining to austerity and policy change.

Exploring the Geography of Subjective Happiness in Europe During the Years of the Economic Crisis: A Multilevel Modelling Approach

This article builds on the efforts by geographers and regional scientists aimed at adding a geographical dimension to the analysis and understanding of happiness and well-being. In particular, the article explores the changes in observed subjective wellbeing measures of residents in countries and regions that were mostly hit by the severe economic crisis and austerity measures. To that end, we present a multilevel modelling approach to the analysis of suitable secondary data derived from the European Social Survey (ESS), as well as relevant contextual regional-level data from Eurostat. The article first presents a brief overview of the state of the art in happiness and well-being research, with particular emphasis on the relatively limited but rapidly growing geographical studies, as well as studies by economists regarding the impact of austerity and inequality upon happiness and well-being. We then present key findings from a comprehensive analysis of European Social Survey data combined with austerity related data at the regional level in order to explore the geography of happiness and well-being in Europe amid times of economic gloom and severe austerity measures. The research presented in this article involves analysis of data before, during and after (or in towards the end of) the crisis and it is aimed at identifying geographical as well as individual socio-economic and demographic factors that may be affecting happiness and well-being and their possible interactions. The model outputs suggest that living in one of the ‘crisis countries’ has a negative impact on subjective happiness around the time when the short, medium and long term effects of the recession would be mostly felt, when compared to ‘Northern European’ countries (controlling for an extensive number of important covariates selected on the basis of previous work). In addition, the results suggest that the happiness levels in ‘crisis countries’ were higher than the Baltic countries in 2014 and 2016 and higher than the Central and Eastern European countries in 2016. An additional interesting finding is that at the time when the effects of the crisis would be mostly felt, populations born in the country where the ESS took place are on average (after controlling for all other covariates) less happy than those born abroad in one of the years (2014) after the breakout of the crisis.

The Impact of Crisis and Austerity on Long Term Care for Older People in Portugal – An Analysis Based on the Experiences of Social Workers in Private Institutions for Social Solidarity

In Portugal, long-term care (LTC) for older people rests mainly upon Private Institutions for Social Solidarity (IPSS). The debt crisis of 2008-2013 and the austerity policies that followed had a considerable impact on all sectors of the country’s economy and social services. How did this crisis and austerity impact long-term care for older people? We approach this question with a qualitative research using content analyzis, based on individual interviews of a geographically convenient sample (N = 20) with social work staff of IPSS providing social responses of LTC for older people (1 full-time social work staff per each institution), located at the Center Region of Portugal. The main themes revealed by the analyzis were: financing, human resources, partnerships and quality. The results show a strong impact at the level of financing, yet, a correspondent lower impact on the quality of the services. Also, some dynamics of innovation appear in issues of partnerships and human resources. Although the results and discussion are limited to a specific historical and geographical context, upon further research, they can be considered as implications of crisis and austerity on older people’s social services more broadly, and a reference point to compare with future social policies.

“There Isn’t Really Anything around Here…”: Autism, Education and the Experience of Families Living in Rural Coastal England

Autism affects over 2% of the school population in England. Education has proven to be an effective intervention strategy that improves the quality of life of children with autism and their families. However, governmental austerity policies have increased disadvantage in coastal areas of England with a detrimental impact on people with disabilities. This qualitative study explored the lives of families living with autism in rural coastal England. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and young people from 21 families living with autism in West Norfolk and Cornwall shared their experience through semi-structured interviews that were conducted in early 2019. Families identified positive and negative aspects of living in these areas, including barriers preventing access to and inclusion in education. Barriers were related to poor infrastructure, sparse specialised services (resulting in diagnostic delay and difficulties), limited autism awareness, lack of trained professionals, and the impact of austerity across health, social care and education. Families’ struggles are amplified by the intersectionality of (a) autism-specific needs, (b) physical distance and small-community life related to rurality and (c) the seasonal and peripheral nature of coastal life. Access to education for children with autism in rural coastal areas of England could be improved by acknowledging and addressing the intersecting factors intensifying their marginalisation.

Poverty as a Political Choice: a Comparative Analysis of Reports of the UN Rapporteur\u2019s Visits to the UK and Spain

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two reports by the UN Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, one for Spain and one for the UK. In both countries, austerity policies were introduced following the banking crisis of 2008. The UN Rapporteur reports highlight the damage that was done by welfare retrenchment. In particular, the reports document the impact of austerity on the most vulnerable individuals and communities. The paper uses Somers' (2008) conceptual model of citizenship as the basis for a comparative analysis of two reports. Somers' (2008) model of citizenship is a triadic one which sees the state, market and civil society as competing elements. Each one can serve to regulate and limit the influence or excesses of the other two. Somers argues that neoliberalism has seen the dominance of the market at the expense of the role of the state and the institutions of civil society. Austerity policies saw the market dominating. Having examined the context of the two reports and their conclusions, the paper discussed the implications for individual social workers’ practice and the role of social work as a profession in tackling poverty and marginalisation.

Reducing fire risk in buildings: the role of fire safety expertise and governance in building and planning approval

Following the Grenfell tower incident, fire safety is being re-examined around the world. One key area is planning and building approval. It has been suggested that expert fire authority advice is being ignored in building and planning control. In this paper, freedom of information requests were submitted to fifty local government authorities (covering approx. one quarter of the England and Wales population), and three fire authorities, to examine their consultation process. No prior study has examined this relationship in detail. This work attempts to identify who is assessing fire safety, what expertise exists in the system, and what guidance is available from central government. The impact of austerity on the ability to effectively manage fire safety is also discussed. Results show local government authorities have a large degree of discretion with no guidance from central government on fire safety expertise needed to assess non-prescriptive building standards, and only limited guidance on how fire authority advice should be used by local government. The result is a dramatically different level of engagement of fire authorities, and implementation of fire safety advice. There does not appear to be any guarantee that fire expertise is being employed for the purpose of fire safety in building/planning processes. This means the building regulatory regime may be one of the many issues contributing to fire safety issues. Stronger legislation is required to prevent a post-code lottery of fire safety implementation.

Austerity, teleological ‘ends’ and the timespace practices of the state organisation

The impact of austerity on urban governance has become a key area of academic concern, but many studies tend to interpret the effect on individual urban state bodies through analysis of broader governance relations, whilst also framing austerity as an overarching and homogeneous set of ideas, values and practices. In response, this paper examines a city government’s economic development department as a means in which to understand how the heterogeneous agency of the organisation mitigates austerity. In examining the adaptation to austerity, the paper deploys the practice theory of Schatzki. This involves utilising his conceptualisation of the construction of practices through various elements in producing the organisation, and their related ‘timespaces’. In conclusion, examining practices are important in understanding the intricacies of the ‘agency’ of the organisation, with the paper elucidating the uneven reconfiguration of the case study towards forms of timespace governing based on entrepreneurial pro-growth practices.

The Disassembly of the Greek Welfare State under the Troika

Having broken from half a century of binary political choice between Greece's two established political parties, SYRIZA's rise to power in the 2010s represented an opportunity for the country's welfare state to resist intrusions by European entities and institutions. This paper analyses Greece’s history and political interaction during this period, arguing that Greece has now, in folding to the EU, completed its transition from a relatively liberally-spending welfare state to what Wolfgang Streeck calls a “consolidation state.” Relevant to this analysis is a set of historical details leading up to the SYRIZA election and the 2015 referendum—seen as the high-water mark of opposition to austerity and cuts to the welfare state. In turn, the impact of austerity on the Greek population is quantified and substantiated, demonstrating that austerity measures predominately impacted the welfare state, more often than not resulting in direct reductions to pension and other monetary payments to the citizenry. Finally, these factual conditions are squared with theoretical descriptions and conceptualisations of the welfare state as existing under neoliberalism. Ultimately, what can be drawn from this research is that Europe's institutions are unyielding in their prioritisation of an ordoliberal, single-market ideology over individual Member States’ varying conceptions of locally implemented fiscal policy. Keywords: Austerity; Consolidation state; Neoliberalism; Ordoliberalism; Referendum; Welfare state; SYRIZA

The Legacy of Austerity

In considering the impact of austerity, much attention has been focused on the immediate effects of public spending cuts and on documenting the resulting increase in hardship and unmet needs. However, in calculating the consequences of austerity for the welfare state, it is its enduring legacy that is equally important. This article examines the proposition that the indirect effects of austerity on social, economic and political relations are as significant for the welfare of future generations as the ‘decade of austerity’ has been for contemporary welfare. The analysis draws on the approach adopted by Paul Wilding (1992) reflecting on the 1980s as the ‘decade of Thatcherism’. Wilding’s ten legacies are recategorised across four dimensions: normalising a non-commitment to welfare, societal scarring, refuelling the race to the bottom and diminishing the political capacity for change. The conclusions suggest that austerity will abide in the social and political relations of welfare long after austerity measures have ceased.

Intersectionality and employment in the United Kingdom: Where are all the Black disabled people?

This paper begins by giving a description of the relationship between austerity and the neoliberal policy focus on work in the UK, and how this impacts negatively on disabled people. It examines why Black disabled people’s employment experiences have been missing in the literature despite the fact that they are more affected by austerity. Black disabled people’s experiences in the job market tend to focus on racism and discrimination, whilst other struggles linked to disability, and what this implies for Black people, are poorly understood. A case study, of Black disabled workers, living with the sickle cell condition, is examined to comprehend why more nuanced intersectional research might be needed to understand why some Black people’s experiences of employment remain invisible. Points of interest: While there has been a lot of attention on disability and impact of austerity and employment in the England, certain experiences have been missing in analysis. The study explains why Black disabled people’s employment experiences are neglected in disability, ethnic minority as well as within employment research. Black people’s experiences in the job market tend to focus on racist discrimination or identities, whilst other struggles linked to class, sexism and disability discrimination are poorly delineated. A case study of Black disabled workers with a genetic condition, sickle cell, is given to argue that more nuanced research is needed.

Towards geographies of child protection

AbstractThe emergence of current and historic cases of child abuse across the globe has, in recent years, dominated the news, political agendas and popular discourse surrounding children. From serious case reviews to exploitation in post‐conflict zones, from sexual abuse of children by groups to trafficking of drugs across countries, the importance of protecting children is an increasing concern in many countries. Key to, and inherent in, all of these processes and phenomena are child protection systems, working in varying degrees of effectiveness. While geographic interest has touched upon many of these areas, the role of child protection systems, and the practitioners that work within these, do not explicitly feature within this work. In this article, we seek to develop an introduction to geographies of child protection, producing an initial critical review which points to future research avenues in this field. We adopt a Foucauldian approach and review four themes to illustrate the ways in which geographical approaches might yield important insights. Drawing primarily on England as a context, we consider the historical geographies and origins of child protection, relational practices in contemporary child protection, the impact of austerity and finally we consider what future directions might require a geographical approach.

The impact of austerity on disabled, elderly and immigrants in the United Kingdom: a literature review

Systematic literature searching identified 29 relevant health and social sciences articles for review on the topic of austerity policies and their impacts on the health and social care of disabled, elderly and immigrants in the United Kingdom (UK). Since 2010, government changes to previously state-funded areas meant levels of funding and eligibility changed significantly. Self-funding or self-managing healthcare, but more often social care, was transferred to individuals. While additional funding was given for some treatments, prevention approaches were cut. More people had to depend on non-professional care, mostly from family. Many family carers received no professional advice or information and mostly had to reduce their own employment hours and income to care for a dependent. The quality of services, professional or non-professional, became poorer than pre-2010. These changes increased marginalisation and stigma. Consequently, many ‘vulnerable’ became ‘vilified’ – disabled, elderly and immigrants often of the worst affected. Points of interest Government definitions of ‘disability’, ‘elderly’ and ‘immigrant’ change. UK changes reduced the health and social care available to individuals recently. Individuals were made responsible for knowing about changes that affected them and had to manage their care without professional guidance and support. Some had to use personal funding to maintain their quality of life. Many people felt stigmatised because of the changes and were nervous about seeking help they were entitled to. Health and social care should be joined-up and involve assessment, funding, and services offered as a package. This should be ideally focused on preventing worsening health, early treatment and support for managing long-term conditions. Judging that people currently contributing to the economy through work as those who deserve government services is wrong. Assisting the well-being of those who cannot currently contribute can recognise past contributions and improve potential to contribute, and may reduce future needs for government services.

Using a Formal Strategy of Priority Setting to Mitigate Austerity Effects Through Gains in Value: The Role of Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA) in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System.

The fiscal regime implemented in Brazil with the constitutional amendment 95 (EC-95) of December 2016 froze primary expenditures for 20years, including healthcare spending. Previous studies have estimated strong negative effects of this policy on the health of Brazilians. Although there has been a constant pressure to repeal EC-95, this policy is unlikely to be changed in the near future. Thus, there is also a need to take actions within its own terms in order to mitigate its harmful consequences on population health. Shedding light on the existing evidence about the impact of austerity on health, the present work discusses how decision-makers can use a formal framework of decisionmaking in priority setting and resource allocation to tackle the amplified budgetary strain. Drawing on principles of Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA), efficiency can be improved by shifting spending from low-value to higher-value areas, avoiding the "across-the-board cut" caused by non-differential consideration of expenditures in a context of mismatched growth of demand and supply of healthcare. By evaluating opportunity costs of investment and disinvestment proposals on the basis of multiple criteria and marginal analysis, the Brazilian public healthcare system could obtain gains in value, achieving better performance and attenuating the relative decline in spending on health brought by an austerity scenario.