The Politics of Economic Decline
Economic Management and Political Behaviour in Britian since 1964

This book originally published in 1979, deals with popular perceptions and expectations of economic trends.

James E. Alt (Author)

9780521107730, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 February 2009

308 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

This book originally published in 1979, deals with popular perceptions and expectations of economic trends, popular preferences among economic policies, and the relationships between these and broader aspects of political behaviour like voting, attachment to the party system, and political and social attitudes. The economy has long been held to be a critical determinant of the ability of governments to gain election. This book provides unique evidence about popular expectations of inflation, evaluation of economic management, and preferences among competing economic goals and policies, without which the connection between economic management and electoral success cannot be understood. At the same time, by dealing extensively with electoral survey data for Britain since 1964, the book provides a contemporary history of electoral and political behaviour in an age of unprecedented economic management.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Politics and the economy in Britain
2. The British economy in the 1970s
Part II. Economic policies, perceptions, and expectations: 3. Overview: the reaction to economic change
4. Believing what you see: inflation expectations in 1974
5. The concept of an economic outlook
6. The economy and government support
7. Political business cycles in Britain
Part III. Popular preferences among economic policies: 8. Overview: who's to blame for inflation?
9. Realism in economic affairs
10. Inflation or unemployment: a question of goals
11. Controlling inflation: a question of means
12. The determinants of economic policy choice
Part IV. The politics of economic decline: 13. The decline of instrumental voting
14. Ideology and economic outlook
15. Expectations and economic contradictions.

Subject Areas: Macroeconomics [KCB]