The Inadequacy of using the Debt Intolerace and Expanssionary Austerity Theories to defend fiscal austerity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28998/repd.v16i35.19168Keywords:
Debt intolerance, Expansionary austerity, Fiscal austerityAbstract
This paper aims to show how the theses of “debt intolerance” and “expansionist fiscal austerity” are inadequate as arguments for the defense of fiscal austerity in times of crisis. In the case of brazil, these theses were present in the public/media debate during the covid-19 pandemic. In that moment of need for fiscal action, our orthodoxy 'guardian of healthy finances' came out to defend theses that were no longer being echoed around the world. The arguments in favor of resuming fiscal adjustment were centered especially on the thesis of debt intolerance, in our view inadequately used for the brazilian reality; and on the thesis of expansionist austerity, widely questioned theoretically and empirically. The aim is to present and critically discuss the use of these theses to defend the resumption of austerity, with emphasis on how they were used in brazil during the covid-19 pandemic.
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