Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Unusual Bedfellows? The IMF, Tackling Inequality and Social Democratic Policy Renewal

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Diverging Capitalisms

  • 419 Accesses

Abstract

Methodological nationalism is hard-wired into social democratic thought and practice. The methodological nationalism which characterised the political economy of social democracy as a political movement in the twentieth century is a crucial source of the problems facing social democratic renewal today. This chapter proposes small steps towards social democratic policy thinking beyond the national—focusing on the confluence of interest in tackling inequality between Bretton Woods institutions and European social democracy. It considers the post-crash re-centring of the IMF and the contours of egalitarian policy space. Since the crash, Bretton Woods institutions such as the IMF have taken on the inequality (and jobs) agenda in new and interesting ways. Indeed, they are arguably more visible and vocal campaigners on tackling inequality than many social democratic parties.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Archibugi, D. (2004). Cosmopolitan Democracy and Its Critics: A Review. European Journal of International Relations, 10(3), 437–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archibugi, D., & Held, D. (1995). Cosmopolitan Democracy. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babb, S., & Buira, A. (2005). Mission Creep, Mission Push and Discretion: The Case of IMF Conditionality. In A. Buira (Ed.), The IMF and the World Bank at Sixty. London: Anthem Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, D. J., De Waele, J.-M., Fabien, E., & Mathieu, V. (Eds.). (2014). European Social Democracy During the Global Economic Crisis: Renovation or Resignation? Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, L., Furceri, D., Leigh, D., & Loungani, P. (2013). The Distributional Effects of Fiscal Consolidation (IMF Working Paper WP/13/151). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ban, C. (2015a). Austerity Versus Stimulus? Understanding Fiscal Policy Change at the International Monetary Fund Since the Great Recession. Governance, 28(2), 167–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ban, C. (2015b). From Designers to Doctrinaires: Staff Research and Fiscal Policy Change at the IMF. In G. Morgan, S. Quack, & P. Hirsch (Eds.), Elites on Trial. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, A., & Ostry, J. D. (2011). Inequality and Unsustainable Growth: Two Sides of the Same Coin? (IMF Staff Discussion Note SDN/11/08). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Best, J. (2003). From the Top-Down: The New Financial Architecture and the Re-embedding of Global Finance. New Political Economy, 8(3), 363–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Best, J. (2005). The Limits of Transparency: Ambiguity and the History of International Finance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blyth, M. (2003). The Political Power of Financial Ideas. In J. Kirshner (Ed.), Monetary Orders: Ambiguous Economics, Ubiquitous Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boughton, J. M. (2001). Silent Revolution: The International Monetary Fund 1979–1989. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brassett, J. (2010). Cosmopolitanism and Global Financial Reform: A Pragmatic Approach to the Tobin Tax. Abington: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brassett, J., & Bulley, D. (2007). Ethics in World Politics: Cosmopolitanism and Beyond? International Politics, 44(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chopra, A. (2014). The IMF Was Right to Criticize UK Fiscal Policy. Peterson Institute for International Economics Realtime Economics Issues Watch blog. Available at: https://piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/imf-was-right-criticize-ukfiscal-policy.

  • Chwieroth, J. M. (2010). Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clift, B. (2003a). French Socialism in a Global Era. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clift, B. (2003b). The Changing Political Economy of France: Dirigisme Under Duress. In M. Ryner & A. Cafruny (Eds.), A Ruined Fortress? Neo-liberal Hegemony and Transformation Europe. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clift, B. (2011). The Frozen Pendulum: The Ideological, Organisational and Electoral Travails of French Socialism. Renewal: A Journal of Labour Politics, 19(1), 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clift, B. (2018). The IMF and the Politics of Austerity in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clift, B., & McDaniel, S. (2017). Is this Crisis of French Socialism Different? Hollande, the Rise of Macron, and the Reconfiguration of the Left in the 2017 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. Modern & Contemporary France, 25(4), 403–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahrendorf, R. (1990). Reflections on the Revolution in Europe. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, P. (2007). Interpreting Keynes for the 21st Century: Volume 4: The Collected Writings of Paul Davidson. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrera, M. (2005). The Boundaries of Welfare. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrera, M. (2009). Solidarity Beyond the Nation State? Reflections on the European Experience. In O. Cramme & P. Diamond (Eds.), Social Justice in the Global Age. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furceri, D., & Loungani, P. (2013). Who Let the Gini Out? Finance & Development, 50(4), 25–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamble, A. (1990). Britain in Decline. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamble, A. (2009). Moving Beyond the National: The Challenges for Social Democracy in a Global World. In O. Cramme & P. Diamond (Eds.), Social Justice in the Global Age. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, A., Kim, J., Ostry, J., Qureshi, M., & Mendoza, E. (2013). Fiscal Fatigue, Fiscal Space and Debt Sustainability in Advanced Economies. Economic Journal, 123(566), 4–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1994). Beyond Left and Right: The Future of Radical Politics. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glyn, A. (Ed.). (2001). Social Democracy in Neoliberal Times: The Left and Economic Policy Since 1980. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glyn, A. (2006). Capitalism Unleashed: Finance, Globalization, and Welfare. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabel, I. (2003). Ideology, Power and the Rise of Independent Monetary Institutions in Emerging Economies. In J. Kirshner (Ed.), Monetary Orders: Ambiguous Economics, Ubiquitous Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabel, I. (2011). Not Your Grandfather’s IMF: Global Crisis, ‘Productive Incoherence’ and Developmental Policy Space. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 35(5), 805–830.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. (1996). After Social Democracy (p. 47). London: Demos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. (1998). False Dawn. London: Granta.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hacker, J. S., & Pierson, P. (2010). Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer—And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. (1986). Governing the Economy. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, J. (2007). Fragmented France: Two Centuries of Disputed Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, M. P. S. (2005). Understanding Fiscal Space (IMF Policy Discussion Paper PDP/05/4). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirst, P. (1999). Has Globalisation Killed Social Democracy? The Political Quarterly, 70(s1), 84–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IEO. (2011). IMF Performance in the Run-Up to the Financial and Economic Crisis: IMF Surveillance in 2004–07. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. Available at: http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/issuespapers/Crisis_Final_Issues_Paper_Web.pdf.

  • IEO. (2016). The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2010, October). World Economic Outlook. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2011). 2011 Triennial Surveillance Review—Overview Paper (approved by SPR). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2013). Key Aspects of Macroprudential Policy. Washington DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2014, October). World Economic Outlook. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jospin, L. (1995). Propositions pour la France 1995–2000. Paris: PS Presse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jospin, L. (1999). Modern Socialism. London: Fabian Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jospin, L. (2001). My Vision of Europe and Globalization. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J. M. (1980). The Collected Writings of J.M. Keynes: Vol. 25 Activities 1940–44: Shaping the Postwar World: The Clearing Union (D. Moggridge, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagarde, C. (2012, June 8). Completing the Task: Financial Sector Reform for Stability and Growth. Speech hosted by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, New York. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp060812a.

  • Lagarde, C. (2014, May 27). Economic Inclusion and Financial Integrity—An Address to the Conference on Inclusive Capitalism. London. Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2014/052714.htm.

  • Lipton, D. (2013). David Lipton’s Opening Remarks at Fiscal Forum: The Evolving Role of Fiscal Policy. International Monetary Fund. Available at: http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2013/fiscal/. Accessed May 2, 2017.

  • Moschella, M. (2011). Lagged Learning and the Response to Equilibrium Shock: The Global Financial Crisis and Imf Surveillance. Journal of Public Policy, 31(2), 121–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostry, M. J. D., Berg, M. A., & Tsangarides, M. C. G. (2014). Redistribution, Inequality, and Growth (IMF Staff Discussion Note SDN/14/02). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostry, J. D., Ghosh, A. R., Kim, J. I., & Qureshi, M. S. (2010). Fiscal Space (IMF Staff Position Note SPN/10/11). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostry, J. D., Loungani, P., & Furceri, D. (2016). Neoliberalism: Oversold. Finance & Development, 53(2), 38–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parti Socialiste. (2010a). Texte de la Convention nationale Pour unenouvelle donne internationale et européenne adopté à l’unanimité le 9 octobre 2010. Paris, PS Presse. http://www.parti-socialiste.fr/static/8739/convention-internationale-texte-definitif-avec-tous-les-amendements.pdf?issuusl=ignore.

  • Parti Socialiste. (2010b). Convention égalité réelle Texte présenté lors de la convention nationale Samedi 11 décembre 2010. Paris, PS Presse. http://www.parti-socialiste.fr/static/9373/samedi-suivez-la-convention-egalite-reelle-en-direct-73415.pdf?issuusl=ignore.

  • Peet, R. (2009). Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierson, C. (1995). Socialism After Communism. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierson, C. (2001). Hard Choices: Social Democracy in the 21st Century. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piketty, T. (2015). Putting Distribution Back at the Center of Economics: Reflections on Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(1), 67–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. ([1944] 2001). The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. (2nd Beacon Paperback). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Przeworski, A. (1985). Capitalism and Social Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ruggie, J. (1982). International Regimes, Transactions and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Post-war Economic Order. International Organization, 36(2), 379–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruggie, J. (1983). International Regimes, Transactions and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order. In S. Krasner (Ed.), International Regimes. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soederberg, S. (2004). The Politics of the New International Financial Architecture: Reimposing Neoliberal Domination in the Global South. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W., & Brassett, J. (2008). Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan, and Critical Perspectives. Ethics & International Affairs, 22(1), 69–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E. (2012). The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E. (2015). The Origins of Inequality, and Policies to Contain It. National Tax Journal, 68(2), 425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thirkell-White, B. (2005). The IMF and the Politics of Financial Globalization. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varoufakis, Y. (2017). Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe’s Deep Establishment. London: Bodley Head.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasilopoulou, S., Halikiopoulou, D., & Exadaktylos, T. (2014). Greece in Crisis: Austerity, Populism and the Politics of Blame. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(2), 388–402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wade, R. H. (2001). Capital and Revenge: the IMF and Ethiopia. Challenge, 44(5), 67–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, R. H. (2003a). The Invisible Hand of the American Empire. Ethics & International Affairs, 17(2), 77–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, R. H. (2003b). What Strategies are Viable for Developing Countries Today? The World Trade Organization and the Shrinking of ‘Development Space’. Review of International Political Economy, 10(4), 621–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, R. (2000). The Influence of International Financial Institutions on ISI. In E. Cardenas, J. Ocampo, & R. Thorp (Eds.), An Economic History of Twentieth-Century Latin America: Volume I: The Export Age. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woo, J., Bova, M. E., Kinda, M. T., & Zhang, M. Y. S. (2013). Distributional Consequences of Fiscal Consolidation and the Role of Fiscal Policy: What Do the Data Say? (IMF Working Paper 13/195). Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Ben Clift

Authors
  1. Ben Clift
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Clift .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Etudes Europeennes, Universites Science Politique, Paris, France

    Colin Hay

  2. Political Economy Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Daniel Bailey

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Clift, B. (2019). Unusual Bedfellows? The IMF, Tackling Inequality and Social Democratic Policy Renewal. In: Hay, C., Bailey, D. (eds) Diverging Capitalisms. Building a Sustainable Political Economy: SPERI Research & Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03415-3_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation