When the Party's Over: The Politics of Fiscal Squeeze in Perspective

摘要: squeeze by comparing the available statistics on spending and revenue for nine cases we have explored in this book relating them to other more or less readily documented features of those cases, particularly their forms government, political parties involved ‘squeeze’ episodes electoral outcomes. The chapters that followed took a nuanced in-depth look at numbers politics behind as seen experts each country fiscal squeeze. So chapter briefly puts together what answers questions about set out Chapter 1 can be gleaned from combining comparative statistical analysis 2 with qualitative case studies Chapters 3 11. It then offers some reflections implications study future squeeze, concludes setting what-to-do policy conclusions flow book. We begin repeating was said 1, is an exploratory not randomised controlled trial, it comprises insufficient tests significance meaningful. That does mean such no value, far it, but rather careful specifying concluded it. This sort inquiry cannot used confirm general hypothesis, do claim done that, two very important purposes. One disconfirm hypotheses presumed always usually case—on basis (to take hackneyed methodstextbook example philosophers least since John Stuart Mill (1840: 204–6) revived recent appearance ‘black swan theory’ (Taleb 2007)) only need identify one black hypothesis all swans are white. shall develop point next