In the wake of the Great Recession, large Western governments have tried to keep their economies afloat by imposing austerity measures. The hope is that by reducing wages and spending they could bail themselves out of budget deficits and jumpstart global economic growth. The political economist Mark Blyth says that plan hasn’t worked out. He says austerity has led to sluggish growth and increasing inequality, and not for the first time, either. Blyth joins us to explain why austerity, like a zombie, is a dangerous idea that just won’t die. [Rebroadcast]
GUEST
Mark Blyth is Professor of International Political Economy at Brown University. His new book is called Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea [Indiebound|Amazon].
--During the program, Mark Blyth referred to the book Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History by James A. Morone [Indiebound|Amazon].
