Tuesday, June 25, 2013
2.22 (Binnengasthuis)
The onset of the global economic crisis exposed underlying weaknesses in the economies of various Eurozone countries. Three of these resorted to loans by the ‘Troika’ – the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission – to avoid default. Implementing loan conditions with far-reaching austerity measures was an unprecedented experience for countries with mature welfare states, and domestic and international actors developed various ways aimed at pushing forward or blocking reforms.
This paper will examine the international and European politics of social policy change in the bailout countries, thus bringing together literature on advanced welfare state reform and the political economy of international institutions. Two key questions will be addressed: What is the division of labor over program design and oversight between the Troika institutions? What has been the burden of adjustment in different policy sectors across the bailout countries?
The empirical research is based on descriptive statistics of the on conditionality per policy area and in depth interviews with officials involved in the bailouts at the IMF and European institutions.
