The manufactured crisis of COVID-Keynesianism in Britain, Germany and the USA

Abstract

Economic policymaking shifted away from neoliberal ideals towards 'crisis' Keynesianism during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use a comparative process tracing approach to examine how political and economic actors in Britain, Germany and the USA attempt to legitimise a potential return to neoliberalism to voters. We show that pro-neoliberal actors discursively construct a 'crisis' of COVID-Keynesianism by associating it with rising inflation and 'unsustainable' levels of government spending. Whilst emphasising key neoliberal policies of maintaining low inflation and fiscal conservativism to establish a return to 'normal' neoliberal policymaking. Therefore, we explain how the neoliberal policy paradigm reasserts itself when challenged.