Open AccessSocial policy, cold climates and economic recessions
Author(s) -
Robert Stephens
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
policy quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-1101
pISSN - 2324-1098
DOI - 10.26686/pq.v5i1.4280
Subject(s) - recession , context (archaeology) , ideology , economics , politics , point (geometry) , financial crisis , public economics , political science , positive economics , macroeconomics , history , law , geometry , mathematics , archaeology
The aim of this article is to consider what could happen to social policy expenditure and parameters in a worst case scenario, if the financial crisis spills over into the goods and services sector. Academics are very good at making ex post analyses of why certain events occurred, and extrapolating from this past experience to predict the future, but the future will be different. The starting point will not be the same –people have learnt from the past and have different reactions, the context will vary, and the political players and ideology will have changed. The policy adviser has to be forward thinking, anticipating events. It is in this context that this article is written.