Journal article
Banking crises and politics: A long-run perspective
JM Chwieroth, A Walter
International Affairs | OXFORD UNIV PRESS | Published : 2017
DOI: 10.1093/ia/iix145
Abstract
Were the extensive policy responses of many governments to the financial crises of 2007-9 and the political events that have followed them exceptional? We show that over the course of nearly 150 years, severe banking crises have become more consequential for policy and politics in democracies than ever before. First, governments have become much more likely over time to opt for extensive bailouts and other policies aimed at wealth protection during crises. Second, the inclination of voters to punish governments that are in office when crises occur has also increased sharply over time. We argue that the main cause of both developments is the rise of 'great expectations' among large segments o..
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Awarded by Economic and Social Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
An earlier version of the article was presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Baltimore, 22-25 February 2017. The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in funding the Systemic Risk Centre is gratefully acknowledged (grant number ES/K002309/1). This research also received financial support from Chwieroth's Mid-Career Fellowship from the British Academy for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (MD130026), from Chwieroth and Walter's Discovery Project award from the Australian Research Council (DP140101877), and from a seed fund grant from the Melbourne School of Government. We also thank Shunran Hu, Mike Pottenger, Jeremiah Brown, Andrew Gibbons and Pei Xuan Liu for their assistance in compiling the dataset, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.