Austerity

“Winner of the Hayek Book Prize, Manhattan Institute”“One of the Financial Times’ Summer Books of 2019: Economics”“A Project Syndicate Best Read in 2019”“This book is timely in offering an alternative view… . Read this book as an antidote to the calls for governments to give up on fiscal discipline.”—Chris Giles, Financial Times“It’s an impressive study of nearly 200 episodes of fiscal consolidation in the rich world to understand what’s the best way to go about it. The answer—cutting spending is better than raising taxes—isn’t entirely new, but the supporting evidence is compelling and it will take an equally deep study to make the opposite case.”—Ferdinando Giugliano, Bloomberg Opinion“Austerity is a towering scholarly achievement, embodying decades of research and destined to serve as a touchstone for future studies—both by those who will build on it and by those who will try to tear it down.”—Ken Rogoff, Project Syndicate On Point“This is an extremely important book.”—Martin Wolf, Financial Times, Summer Books of 2019“An important work for economists, policymakers, politicians, and engaged citizens… . One of the clearest and best researched treatments of fiscal policy available. And though not quite suitable for the beach, it’s remarkably readable… . It should be required reading.”—Milton Ezrati, City Journal“A towering scholarly achievement.”—Kenneth Rogoff, Project Syndicate“An ambitious book… . if you’re looking for a comprehensive discussion of austerity policies, this is the book for you.”—James Smith, Society of Professional Economists“Every chapter in this book is thorough, informative, and persuasive… . Without doubt, this is an important book.”—Geoffrey Wood, Central Banking Journal

Alberto Alesina (19572020) was the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. He is the author, with Francesco Giavazzi, of The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline. Carlo Favero is the Deutsche Bank Chair in Quantitative Finance and Asset Pricing at Bocconi University in Italy. He is the author of Applied Macroeconometrics. Francesco Giavazzi is professor of economics at Bocconi University.