The manufactured crisis of COVID-Keynesianism in Britain, Germany and the USA

Abstract

Economic policymaking shifted away from neoliberal ideals towards ‘crisis’ Keynesianism during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use a comparative process tracing approach to examine how political and economic actors in Britain, Germany and the USA attempt to legitimise a potential return to neoliberalism to voters. We show that pro-neoliberal actors discursively construct a ‘crisis’ of COVID-Keynesianism by associating it with rising inflation and ‘unsustainable’ levels of government spending. Whilst emphasising key neoliberal policies of maintaining low inflation and fiscal conservativism to establish a return to ‘normal’ neoliberal policymaking. Therefore, we explain how the neoliberal policy paradigm reasserts itself when challenged.

Debt, Credit Payment Holidays, and Their Relationship with Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom

“…Faced with an unprecedented health emergency during COVID-19, governments and central banks across the globe eschewed neoliberal policymaking and resorted to unprecedented Keynesian-style interventions and support measures to minimize the impact on households and businesses (Béland et al 2021; Wood et al 2022). In the United Kingdom, the government intervened directly with over £410 billion of elevated fiscal spending for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, a £20 per week increase of Universal Credit, and loans to private firms and corporations (Béland et al 2021; Spencer et al 2022).…”

“…In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant shift in government policy from neoliberalism to Keynesian-style interventionism, characterized by rapidly increased welfare spending and government debt to support the labor market (Béland et al 2021; Spencer et al 2022; Wood, Ausserladscheider, and Sparkes 2022). Among the most important provisions was agovernment-endorsed credit payment holiday scheme (around 5 million accessed the scheme by July 2021), permitting borrowers to make no payments under a regulated credit contract for a specified period without being in shortfall (Financial Conduct Authority [FCA] 2020b).…”