Are we all austerians now? An analysis of national parliamentary parties' positioning on anti-crisis measures in the eurozone
2013; Routledge; Volume: 21; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/13501763.2013.829582
ISSN1466-4429
Autores Tópico(s)European Union Policy and Governance
ResumoABSTRACTWhich factors account for positioning of national parliamentary parties on anti-crisis measures implemented in the bailout states of the eurozone? The literature suggests that parties representing the economic 'left' are more likely to advocate Keynesian measures, whereas parties representing the economic 'right' tend to support the neoliberal ones. However, the current political discourse suggests that the choice of anti-crisis policies rather reflects the conflict of interests between euro states that received a bailout (debtors) and those who only provided financial guarantees (creditors). The empirical findings, based on (1) discourse analysis of national parliamentary debates and (2) the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) model (crisp set), demonstrate that – next to the economic stance of a party – receipt of a bailout also accounts for parliamentary parties' positioning on anti-crisis measures. In particular, parliamentary parties in debtor states are likely to opt for Keynesian anti-crisis measures despite their right-wing economic stance or membership in the government.KEY WORDS: EMUmacroeconomic approachesnational parliamentsparliamentary debatesQCA analysissovereign debt crisis ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe empirical analysis presented in this article would not be complete without the linguistic support of Athena Charalamboglou and Patricio Galella. I am also grateful to my colleagues from the Institute of Public Goods and Policies (IPP) for their insightful comments on the early versions of the article: Carlos Closa; Daniela Vintila; Patricio Galella; and Pablo Jose Castillo Ortiz. I would also like to thank Vincent Desreumaux for consultations on macroeconomic issues. A draft version of this article was presented during the 2012 EUDO Dissemination Conference at the EUI in Florence (22–23 November 2012); I would like to thank the participants (particularly Claudius Wagemann with whom I continued an email exchange regarding the application of the QCA analysis) for their comments. Finally, I am particularly grateful to Ben Crum who commented very thoroughly on the final version of the article and the three anonymous reviewers who contributed to the quality of the article with their insightful comments and suggestions.Notes* The title of this article is a paraphrased statement of M. Friedman 'we are all Keynesians now' (Time, 31 December 1965).1 Initially the impact of Euroscepticism was also tested (based on the PIREDEU codes). The variable was dropped because it did not account for positioning of parties.2 Available at http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/sovereigns/ratings-list/en/us (accessed 1 September 2013).3 Germany (Bundestag: 08.09.2011, 29.09.2011); Austria (Nationalrat: 30.09.2011); Ireland (Dail Eireann: 20.09.2011, 21.09.2011); France (Assemblee Nationale 06/07.09.2011); Slovenia (Drzavni Zbor: 19.09.2011); Belgium (la Chambre des Representants: 29.08.2011, 09.09.2011, 13.09.2011); Greece (Hellenic Parliament: 20.09.2011, 22.09.09.2011, 27.09.2011); Spain (Congreso de los Diputados: 15.09.2011).4 Keynesians are not against austerity measures as such but they recommend them during periods of economic growth.5 Fine Gael (Ireland), 21.09.2011.6 That measure is recommended by Keynesians.7 GDR (France), 06.09.2011.8 http://www.compasss.org9 The PIREDEU database is accessible online after prior registration at http://www.piredeu.eu/DC/index2.asp. The data are available in the Excess or Excel format. In the PIREDEU database party positions were usually coded on a 10-point scale which allows transforming various 'codes' or 'indexes' both into fuzzy or dichotomous variables. Few recently established parliamentary parties were not covered by the PIREDEU database, namely, People Before Profit (Ireland) or GDR (France). Their economic stance (left–right) was established on the basis of their current party programmes.10 Available at http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/ (accessed 1 September 2013).11 Available at http://www.euractiv.com/de (accessed 1 September 2013).Additional informationBiographical note:Aleksandra Maatsch is a post-doc researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Institute of Public Goods and Policies (IPP).
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