Rogers, Christopher James. (2009) The politics of economic policy making in Britain : a re-assessment of the 1976 IMF crisis. Politics & Policy, Vol.37 (No.5). pp. 971-994. ISSN 1555-5623

Preview	PDF WRAP_Rogers_100211-the_politics_of_economic_policy_making_in_britain_pp_26-6-2009.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (381Kb)
	PDF WRAP_Rogers_rogers_P&P_copyright_assignment.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (2266Kb)

Abstract

Many existing accounts of the IMF crisis have argued that British policy was determined either by the exercise of structural power by markets through the creation of currency instability and the application of loan conditionality, or by demonstrating that only policies of a broadly monetarist persuasion would be sufficient to sustain confidence, a recognition which was reached through a process of policy learning. This paper offers a re-assessment of economic policy-making in Britain during the 1976 IMF crisis to show that policy change did not occur as a result of disciplinary market pressure or a process of social learning. It argues that state managers have to manage the contradictions between the imperatives of accumulation and legitimation, and can do so through the politics of depoliticisation. It then uses archival sources to show how significant elements of the core-executive had established preferences for deflationary policies, which were implemented in 1976 by using market rhetoric and Fund conditionality to shape perceptions about the range of issues within the government‟s scope for discretionary control.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1964-1979, Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1964-1979, International Monetary Fund -- History
Journal or Publication Title:	Politics & Policy
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
ISSN:	1555-5623
Date:	October 2009
Volume:	Vol.37
Number:	No.5
Page Range:	pp. 971-994
Identification Number:	10.1111/j.1747-1346.2009.00207.x
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Grant number:	PTA-031-2005-00139 (ESRC)
References:	Andrews, D. M. (1994) „Capital Mobility and State Autonomy: Toward a Structural Theory of International Monetary Relations‟ International Studies Quarterly, 38 (2), 193-218 Bank of England (1976) Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 16 (3), London: Bank of England Bernstein, K. (1983) „The International Monetary Fund and Deficit Countries: The Case of Britain 1974-1977‟. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Stanford University Browning, P. (1986) The Treasury and Economic Policy, 1964-1985. London: Longman. Burk, K. and Cairncross, A. (1992) ‘Goodbye, Great Britain’: The 1976 IMF Crisis, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Burnham, P. (1999) „The Politics of Economic Management in the 1990s‟ New Political Economy, 4 (1), 37-54 Burnham, P. (2001) „New Labour and the Politics of Depoliticisation‟ British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 3 (2), 127-149 Burnham, P. (2003), Remaking the Postwar World Economy: Robot and British Policy in the 1950s, Basingstoke: Palgrave. Burnham, P. (2008) „Parliamentary Socialism, Labourism and Beyond‟ in Wetherly, P., Barrow, C. W. and Burnham, P. (eds.) (2008) Class, Power and the State in Capitalist Society: Essays on Ralph Miliband, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 48-63 Cohen, B. J. (1998) The Geography of Money, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. Dell, E. (1996) The Chancellors: A History of the Chancellors of the Exchequer 1945-1990, London: Harper Collins. Fay, S. and Young, H. (1978) „The Day the £ Nearly Died‟ The Sunday Times, 14, 21 and 28 May 1978 Flinders, M. and Buller, J. (2006) „Depoliticisation: Principles, Tactics and Tools‟ British Politics, 1 (3), 293-318 Hall, P. A. (1993) „Policy Paradigms, Social Learning and the State‟ Comparative Politics, 25 (3), 275-296 Harmon, M. D. (1997) The British Labour Government and the 1976 IMF Crisis, Basingstoke: Macmillan. Hay, C. (1998) „Globalisation, Welfare Retrenchment and „the Logic of No Alternative‟: Why Second-best Won‟t Do‟ Journal of Social Policy 27 (2), 525-532. Helleiner, E. (1992) „States and the future of global finance‟ Review of International Studies, 18 (1), 31-49. Hickson, K. (2005) The IMF Crisis of 1976 and British Politics, London and New York: Taurus Academic Studies. Kettell, S. (2004) The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy-Making: From the Gold Standard to the Euro, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kettell, S. (2008) „Does Depoliticisation Work? Evidence from Britain‟s Membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, 1990-92‟ British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 10 (4), 630-648. Koelble, T. A. (1987) „Trade Unionists, Party Activists, and Politicians: The Struggle for Power over Party Rules in the British Labour Party and the West German Social Democratic Party‟ Comparative Politics, 19 (3), 253-266 Kunz, D. B. (1987) The battle for Britain’s gold standard in 1931, Beckenham: Croon Helm. Labour Party (1974a) „Let us work together – Labour‟s way out of the crisis‟ in Dale, I. ed. (1999) Labour Party General Election Manifestos, 1900-1997, London: Routledge, 181-192 Labour Party (1974b) „Britain will win with Labour‟ in Dale, I. ed. (1999) Labour Party General Election Manifestos, 1900-1997, London: Routledge, 194-213 Ludlam, S. (1992) „The Gnomes of Washington: Four Myths of the 1976 IMF Crisis‟ Political Studies, 40 (4), 713-727 Pliatzky, L. (1984) Getting and Spending: Public Expenditure, Employment and Inflation, Revised Edition, Oxford: Blackwell. Taylor, R. (2000) The TUC: From the General Strike to New Unionism, Basingstoke: Palgrave. TNA CAB 128/59, Meetings: 1-22 TNA CAB 128/60, Meetings: 23-43 TNA CAB 129/189, Papers: 1-25 TNA CAB 129/190, Papers: 26-50 TNA CAB 129/193, Papers: 111-137 TNA CAB 134/4025, Ministerial Committee on Economic Strategy: meetings and papers TNA CAB 134/4026, Ministerial Committee on Economic Strategy: papers TNA CAB 134/4048, Ministerial Committee on Economic Strategy: meetings and papers TNA PREM 16/800, Sterling/Dollar parity: measures to support sterling TNA PREM 16/803, International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to support sterling TNA PREM 16/805, International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to support sterling TNA PREM 16/808, International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to support sterling TNA PREM 16/836, Economic strategy TNA T 277/3053, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: papers TNA T 277/3175, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: minutes TNA T 277/3178, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: memoranda TNA T 358/207, UK interest rates strategy and management of the Sterling Rate TNA T 364/17, Economic Strategy TNA T 364/50, International Monetary Fund (IMF) including Letter of Intent TNA T 371/87, Public Expenditure 1976-1977: contingency planning; general papers TNA T 378/22, Exchange rate policy: general papers; devaluation and the trade balance TNA T 381/15, International Monetary Fund (IMF) drawings by the UK TNA T 381/16, International Monetary Fund (IMF) drawings by the UK TNA T 381/17, International Monetary Fund (IMF) drawings by the UK TUC / Labour Party Liaison Committee (1973) „Economic Policy and the Cost of Living‟ Report of the 105th Annual Trades Union Congress, London: TUC, 312-315 Wass, D. (2008) Decline to Fall: The Making of British Macro-Economic Policy and the 1976 IMF Crisis, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Watson, M. (2006) Foundations of International Political Economy, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Watson, M. and Hay, C. (2003) „The discourse of globalisation and the logic of no alternative: rendering the contingent necessary in the political economic of New Labour‟ Policy & Politics, 31 (3), 289-305 Wickham-Jones, M. (1996) Economic Strategy and the Labour Party: Politics and policy-making, 1970-1983, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4323

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item