Fiscal Austerity and Economic Growth

Abstract

, the academic relevance of the theme of the special issue was evident, particularly with the continued crisis in the Eurozone. Moreover, the second half of the 2010s was marked by a reversal of growth trends and economic policies in many parts of Latin America. With time, however, what was to be an internationally relevant subject became a topic of progressively ominous materiality in Brazil, as the economic crisis intertwined with an unprecedented political debacle. The results of this process are well known and, from a political standpoint, will certainly be debated for years to come.From an economic stance, the theme of austerity became the single most important issue in the country. Time and again, economic policies started to pursue increasingly tight fi scal policies coupled with measures that will substantially reduce constitutional rights and the welfare state.Consequently, the timeliness of this special issue is only overshadowed by the pace at which policies and wide-reaching institutional changes have been carried out in Brazil. The six papers included in this issue help steer the debate as well as to put many of the issues at play in perspective.To begin with, the fi rst paper is well placed to avoid the customary navel-gazing of policymakers. In Neoliberalism, trade imbalances, and economic