Tony Atkinson questioned why this policy tends to diverge so much from the 45/55 “expansion path.”Robert Barro proposed a defense of this policy based on Ricardian equivalence, which Giavazzi & Pagano furthered using data from Ireland and Denmark. Alberto Alesina famously claimed the “expansionary” form of this policy could lower interest rates, which Paul Krugman described as a “zombie idea” relying on“confidence fairies.” The European Troika conditioned (*) bailouts on adoption of this policy, causing Greek voters to reject one in a 2015 referendum. John Maynard Keynes recommended that “the boom, not the slump,” is the proper time to implement this policy, which aims to decrease the debt-to-GDP ratio. For 10 points, name this policy of tax hikes and/or cuts to public services, notably practiced by David Cameron’s UK government. ■END■
ANSWER: austerity [accept contractionary fiscal policy or fiscal consolidation; prompt on budget cuts; prompt on spending cuts; prompt on raising taxes]
<Social Science - Social Science>
= Average correct buzz position