Hay, C.S. and Berry, C. (2014) The Great British ‘Rebalancing’ Act: The Construction and Implementation of an Economic Imperative for Exceptional Times. British Journal of Politics and International Relations. ISSN 1369-1481
Abstract
The ‘rebalancing’ of the British economy has become perhaps the central motif in the public political economy of adjustment to the financial crisis. The paper examines the social construction of the ‘rebalancing’ imperative and associated policies, arguing that rebalancing discourse has served to circumscribe the parameters of acceptable state intervention in response to the crisis. It is, accordingly, to be seen as a temporary exception, after which laissez-faire can be restored. But is there any evidence for such a rebalancing? In the second half of the paper we assess the extent to which its objectives have been realised in substantive economic policy change, demonstrating a disjuncture between the rhetoric and practice of rebalancing – a communicative dissonance. This leads us to question not only the extent to which rebalancing has been pursued in public policy, but also the likelihood that the interventions delineated by rebalancing can herald genuine economic change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 Wiley. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in British Journal of Politics and International Relations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: 'The Great British ‘Rebalancing’ Act: The Construction and Implementation of an Economic Imperative for Exceptional Times', which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-856X.12063. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Keywords: | British economic policy;rebalancing;economic imperatives;coalition government |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) > Political Economy Research Centre (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > University of Sheffield Research Centres and Institutes > Political Economy Research Centre (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Sep 2015 15:58 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jul 2017 20:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/1467-856X.12063 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88670 |