The Political Economy And Media Coverage Of The European Economic Crisis: The Case Of Ireland (routledge Frontiers Of Political Economy)

The European economic crisis has been ongoing since 2008 and while austerity has spread over the continent it has failed to revive economies. The media have played an important ideological role in presenting the policies of economic and political elites in a favourable light, even if the latter's aim has been to shift the burden of adjustment onto citizens. This book explains why, using a critical political economic perspective and focusing on the case of Ireland to draw conclusions often applicable to other countries in crisis. Throughout, Ireland is compared with contemporary and historical examples to contextualise the arguments made. This book covers the housing bubble that led to the crash, the rescue of financial institutions by the state, the role of the European Union and International Monetary Fund, austerity, and the possibility of leaving the eurozone for Europe's peripheral countries. Through a systematic analysis of Ireland's main newspapers, it is argued that the media reflect the views and interests of those in power and downplay alternative policies that could lead to more progressive responses to the crisis. In The Three Decades To The Recent Economic Downturn, Wage Gaps Widened And Household Income Inequality Increased In A Large Majority Of Oecd Countries. This Occurred Even When Countries Were Going Through A Period Of Sustained Economic And Employment Growth. This Report Analyses The Major Underlying Forces Behind These Developments. It Examines To Which Extent Economic Globalisation, Skill-biased Technological Progress And Institutional And Regulatory Reforms Have Had An Impact On The Distribution Of Earnings. The Report Further Provides Evidence Of How Changes In Family Formation And Household Structures Have Altered Household Earnings And Income Inequality. And It Documents How Tax And Benefit Systems Have Changed In The Ways They Redistribute Household Incomes. The Report Discusses Which Policies Are Most Promising To Counter Increases In Inequalities And How The Policy Mix Can Be Adjusted When Public Budgets Are Under Strain. Foreword -- Editorial: Mind The Gap -- An Overview Of Growing Income Inequalities In Oecd Countries -- Special Focus -- Trends In Wage Inequality, Economic Globalisation And Labour Market Policies And Institutions -- The Impact Of Economic Globalisation And Changes In Policies And Institutions On Rising Earnings Inequality -- Inequality Between The Employed And The Non-employed -- Hours Worked, Self-employment And Joblessness As Ingredients Of Earnings Inequality -- Trends In Household Earnings Inequality -- From Household Earnings To Disposable Household Income Inequality -- Changes In Redistribution In Oecd Countries Over Two Decades -- The Distributive Impact Of Publicly Provided Services -- Trends In Top Incomes And Their Tax Policy Implications. Organisation For Economic Co-operation And Development "The European economic crisis has been ongoing since 2008 and while austerity has spread over the continent is has failed to revive economies. The media have played an important ideological role in presenting the policies of economic and political elites in a favourable light, even if the latter's aim has been to shift the burden of adjustment onto citizens. This book explains why, using a critical political economic perspective and focusing on the case of Ireland to draw conclusions often applicable to Europe and the United States. Throughout, Ireland is compared with contemporary and historical examples to contextualise the arguments made. This book covers the housing bubble that led to the crash, the rescue of financial institutions by the state, the role of the European Union and International Monetary Fund, austerity, and the possibility of leaving the eurozone for Europe's peripheral countries. Through a systematic analysis of Ireland's main newspapers, it is argued that the media reflect the views and interests of those in power and downplay alternative policies that could lead to more progressive responses to the crisis"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half Title 4 Title Page 18 Copyright Page 19 Contents 20 List of illustrations 21 Acknowledgements 22 List of abbreviations 23 1. Introduction: ‘the most significant changes since World War II’ 26 Notes 31 2. The crisis and the role of the media 33 The European and Irish crises 33 The role of the media 43 Notes 52 3. The housing bubble 57 Media coverage 60 Notes 69 4. Saving the banks 72 Bad bank 76 Nationalization 77 Good bank 80 European guidelines, Irish strategy 83 NAMA 91 Notes 101 5. The EU-IMF bailout and the default option 107 Towards the EU-IMF bailout 109 The default option 113 Ireland’s debts 115 The media on default 118 Bank bondholders 122 Promissory notes 125 ECB, Central Bank of Ireland, EU/IMF and bilateral loans 127 Democratic deficit vs. debt audits 128 Notes 129 6. Austerity, or class warfare 135 Europe embraces austerity 135 Fiscal consolidation’s record 138 Ireland’s austerity programme 144 Alternatives to austerity 146 The role of the media 152 Notes 166 7. Beyond the eurozone? 173 Leaving the euro? 173 Iceland 178 Argentina 183 Notes 192 8. Conclusion 199 Notes 206 References 207 Index 222 The European economic crisis has been ongoing since 2008 and while austerity has spread over the continent, it has failed to revive economies. The media have played an important ideological role in presenting the policies of economic and political elites in a favourable light, even if the latter's aim has been to shift the burden of adjustment onto citizens. This book explains how and why, using a critical political economic perspective and focusing on the case of Ireland. Throughout, Ireland is compared with contemporary and historical examples to contextualise the arguments made. The book covers the housing bubble that led to the crash, the rescue of financial institutions by the state, the role of the European institutions and the International Monetary Fund, austerity, and the possibility of leaving the eurozone for Europe's peripheral countries.Through a systematic analysis of Ireland's main newspapers, it is argued that the media reflect elite views and interests and downplay alternative policies that could lead to more progressive responses to the crisis. Growing Unequal? brings together a range of analyses on the distribution of economic resources in OECD countries. The evidence on income distribution and poverty covers, for the first time, all 30 OECD countries in the mid-2000s, while information on trends extending back to the mid-1980s is provided for around two-thirds of the countries. The report also describes inequalities in a range of domains (such as household wealth, consumption patterns, in-kind public services) that are typically excluded from conventional discussion about the distribution of economic resources among individuals and This book analyzes how economic globalization and concurrent trends such as technological progress and changes in regulations and policies have shaped the distribution of labor incomes in OECD countries over the past thirty years. It demonstrates how disparities of personal earnings have been transmitted to inequalities of disposable income among nonelderly households, and how governments' redistribution policies have slowed or accelerated the trend toward greater income disparities. The book also discusses trends at the very top of the income distribution and their tax implications This Report Provides Evidence Of A Fairly Generalised Increase In Income Inequality Over The Past Two Decades Across Oecd Countries, But The Timing, Intensity And Causes Of The Increase Differ From What Is Typically Suggested In The Media.