IESET.
Movements·uk_cameron_osborne_austerity_2010_2016

UK Cameron–Osborne austerity

GBR·20102016·Conservative–LibDem 2010–2015, Conservative 2015–2016
Leaders: David Cameron (PM) · George Osborne (Chancellor)
positionsaustrianchicago_monetarismclassical_liberalordoliberalsocial_democraticinstitutionalismdemocratic_socialistdevelopmentalismeco_socialistempirical_pragmatistmarket_socialistmarxianmarxist_leninistnew_keynesianpost_keynesian

Doctrine — stated goals and content

Fiscal consolidation through spending-dominated deficit reduction; protected NHS and schools nominally, cut most other departments 20–40% real, tightened working-age welfare. Corporate tax rate cut from 28% to 19% to stimulate business investment. Housing supply constraints left largely untouched despite rising affordability problem. The framework codes this as a market-oriented fiscal-discipline movement; controversial in its distributional effects.

Policy-content fingerprint — how the framework codes this movement on its axes

spending level
fiscal.spending_level
General government spending as share of GDP, excluding transfers already captured under fiscal.transfer_expansion to avoid double-counting.
decreased · strong
lower spending share
Non-protected departments cut ~30% real; deficit from ~10% to ~3% GDP.
tax corporate
fiscal.tax_corporate
Statutory and effective corporate tax rates, treatment of depreciation, and international competitiveness.
decreased · strong
lower corporate tax burden
Corporate rate 28% → 19%.
transfer expansion
fiscal.transfer_expansion
Size of cash and near-cash transfer programmes (unemployment benefits, means-tested assistance, universal child benefits). Architecturally distinct from forced-saving schemes — see condition welfare_architecture.
decreased · moderate
smaller transfer footprint
Working-age welfare frozen; Universal Credit roll-out with reduced generosity.

Policies enacted

What the data says — linked outcome hypotheses

The movement's outcome claims are tied to these hypotheses. Verdicts update as models run.

inconclusive
uk_economic_decline_multi_movement
INCONCLUSIVE_DATA_PENDING — treatment 'uk_post_2008' has no within-country variation under country fixed effects

Schools of thought aligned or opposed

aligned
austrian
derived: score=+0.98, overlap=3 axes vs austrian profile (mechanical backfill v1)
aligned
chicago_monetarism
derived: score=+1.00, overlap=3 axes vs chicago_monetarism profile (mechanical backfill v1)
aligned
classical_liberal
derived: score=+0.94, overlap=3 axes vs classical_liberal profile (mechanical backfill v1)
aligned
ordoliberal
derived: score=+0.95, overlap=3 axes vs ordoliberal profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
social_democratic
derived: score=-0.96, overlap=3 axes vs social_democratic profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
institutionalism
derived: score=-0.74, overlap=3 axes vs institutionalism profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
democratic_socialist
derived: score=-0.95, overlap=3 axes vs democratic_socialist profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
developmentalism
derived: score=-0.85, overlap=3 axes vs developmentalism profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
eco_socialist
derived: score=-0.92, overlap=3 axes vs ecological profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
empirical_pragmatist
derived: score=-0.47, overlap=3 axes vs empirical_pragmatist profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
market_socialist
derived: score=-1.00, overlap=2 axes vs market_socialist profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
marxian
derived: score=-0.97, overlap=3 axes vs marxian profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
marxist_leninist
derived: score=-1.00, overlap=2 axes vs marxist_leninist profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
new_keynesian
derived: score=-0.84, overlap=3 axes vs new_keynesian profile (mechanical backfill v1)
opposed
post_keynesian
derived: score=-0.98, overlap=3 axes vs post_keynesian profile (mechanical backfill v1)

References