Now is the time for reform

Throughout the country debates on the spending review have begun in earnest. Some of the most important questions in these debates will centre around the economics of consolidation, as I discussed on a recent radio show containing Professor Joseph Stiglitz. I also set out to discuss these issues at the launch of the Orwell Prize. In my remarks I focussed on the general case for eliminating the structural deficit within a Parliamentary term and less on the specifics of the approach that the Coalition has taken to achieving this goal (which I have outlined some thoughts on here). I made five key points.
 
First, consolidation is not based on extreme economic theory that has failed wherever it has been tried. This claim is not supported by the evidence in many countries. At Reform we have discussed the results of consolidation with figures from countries like Canada and New Zealand (and here),