The Great British Austerity Experiment

With deficit hawks poised in the US, we watch with great interest UK economic policy. It's not looking an enviable example so far

by Dean Baker

Three months ago, I noted that the United States might benefit [1] from the pain being suffered by the citizens of the United Kingdom. The reason was the new coalition government's commitment to prosperity through austerity. As predicted, this looks very much like a path to pain and stagnation [2], not healthy growth.

That's bad news for the citizens of the United Kingdom. They will be forced to suffer through years of unnecessarily high unemployment. They will also have to endure cutbacks in support for important public services like healthcare and education.