Eleven From opportunity to austerity: crisis and social policy in Spain
-
Javier Ramos-Díaz
Abstract
Since the mid 1990s, Spain enjoyed a decade of sustained growth that appeared to give a definitive impulse to convergence with its European counterparts. The 2008 crisis, however, brought this economic miracle to a halt and exposed the shaky foundations of Spain’s economic performance. The Socialist government initially saw this crisis as an opportunity to kick-start a process of economic transformation by implementing a wide-ranging stimulus package, but soon markets started targeting Spanish bonds for the country’s growing public deficit, banking sector problems, lack of competitiveness and weak growth prospects. The government reacted by implementing a severe austerity programme of deficit reduction, banking sector restructuring and financial stabilisation, but these measures have proved ineffective in appeasing market pressure in the context of the Eurozone economic and governance crisis.
Abstract
Since the mid 1990s, Spain enjoyed a decade of sustained growth that appeared to give a definitive impulse to convergence with its European counterparts. The 2008 crisis, however, brought this economic miracle to a halt and exposed the shaky foundations of Spain’s economic performance. The Socialist government initially saw this crisis as an opportunity to kick-start a process of economic transformation by implementing a wide-ranging stimulus package, but soon markets started targeting Spanish bonds for the country’s growing public deficit, banking sector problems, lack of competitiveness and weak growth prospects. The government reacted by implementing a severe austerity programme of deficit reduction, banking sector restructuring and financial stabilisation, but these measures have proved ineffective in appeasing market pressure in the context of the Eurozone economic and governance crisis.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- 40th anniversary preface xi
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- Universal Credit: overview and gender implications 15
- Family support and the Coalition: retrenchment, refocusing and restructuring 35
- Housing, the welfare state and the Coalition government 55
- The 2012/13 reforms of higher education in England: changing student finances and funding 77
- Division and opposition: the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 97
-
Social policy in the developed and developing worlds
- Immigrant-targeted activation policies: a comparison of the approaches in the Scandinavian welfare states 117
- Welfare retrenchment under Left and Right government leadership: towards a consolidated framework of analysis? 137
- From black hole to spring: the coming of age of social policy in the Arab countries? 165
- China’s developmental model in Africa: a new era for global social policy? 183
-
Severe crisis: social policy in most challenging circumstances
- The Greek welfare state in the age of austerity: anti-social policy and the politico-economic crisis 205
- From opportunity to austerity: crisis and social policy in Spain 231
- From financial crisis to welfare retrenchment: assessing the challenges to the Irish welfare state 257
- The Great Recession and US social policy: from expansion to austerity 277
- Seeking refuge in the Nordic model: social policy in Iceland after 2008 297
- Index 319
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- 40th anniversary preface xi
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- Universal Credit: overview and gender implications 15
- Family support and the Coalition: retrenchment, refocusing and restructuring 35
- Housing, the welfare state and the Coalition government 55
- The 2012/13 reforms of higher education in England: changing student finances and funding 77
- Division and opposition: the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 97
-
Social policy in the developed and developing worlds
- Immigrant-targeted activation policies: a comparison of the approaches in the Scandinavian welfare states 117
- Welfare retrenchment under Left and Right government leadership: towards a consolidated framework of analysis? 137
- From black hole to spring: the coming of age of social policy in the Arab countries? 165
- China’s developmental model in Africa: a new era for global social policy? 183
-
Severe crisis: social policy in most challenging circumstances
- The Greek welfare state in the age of austerity: anti-social policy and the politico-economic crisis 205
- From opportunity to austerity: crisis and social policy in Spain 231
- From financial crisis to welfare retrenchment: assessing the challenges to the Irish welfare state 257
- The Great Recession and US social policy: from expansion to austerity 277
- Seeking refuge in the Nordic model: social policy in Iceland after 2008 297
- Index 319
