Government Austerity and Socioeconomic Sustainability

This short book integrates the imperatives of public debt sustainability with those of socioeconomic sustainability in the context of budget austerity measures. It is argued that poverty, inequality and unemployment problems should be integral aspects of policy frameworks for austerity and fiscal stability. The economics of austerity in much of economic analysis remains narrowly focused and lopsided, since the implications on the role of human capital and loss of prosperity base are usually ignored. This book argues that various misapplications of policies of government austerity can be avoided if greater attention is accorded to the imperatives of maintaining the win-win approaches for socioeconomic resilience and sustainability in conjunction with debt sustainability and/or fiscal stability.

Synthesizes the limitations of austerity measures and suggests holistic approaches Offers directions for maintaining flexibility in debt reduction and fiscal stability Suggests rational alternatives for productivity-raising and damage-reducing austerity measures Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

The author has published several books and papers on climate change, trade and sustainable development; he teaches at Edward Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA. Among the book publications are. "The Architecture of Green Economic Policies" (Heidelberg: Springer, 2010), "International Environmental Law and Economics" (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), "The World Trade Organization and the Environment" (London: Macmillan, 2000), "Sustainable Development: Economic and Policy" (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000).

Inhalt
Introduction.- Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment: Socioeconomic Policy and Rawlsian Justice.- Economics of Austerity.- Government Austerity in Practice.- Debt Sustainability and Innovative Mechanisms for Socioeconomic Sustainability.