Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Inquiry

Documentaries

Factual

News

Getting beyond the headlines to explore the forces and ideas shaping the world

The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

The Inquiry: Has Austerity Worked?

Has Austerity Worked?

30/06/2015

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Has Austerity Worked?

An examination of whether it is better to cut or spend your way out of an economic crisis

After the global economic crash, governments faced a choice - to spend their way out of trouble, or to cut spending and raise taxes. Is the evidence now in about what works?

The global financial crisis reignited an old debate - is it better to cut spending and raise taxes in an economic downturn, or spend your way out of it? After a period of relative consensus up to 2010, some countries inclined more to austerity (cuts and tax rises), some against. In this edition of The Inquiry we examine whether we now have the evidence to settle this important economic argument.

(Photo: Anti-austerity demonstration. Credit: Zak Kaczmarek/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Inquiry

Has Austerity Worked?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service