What Is Fiscal Sociology?

Abstract

Fiscal sociology has become something of a “catch all” description to describe scholarship that considers taxation, spending and the structure of states. The phrase was coined by Joseph A. Schumpeter, a famous economist, whose belief in the importance of budgets, and the eventual downfall of capitalism, regularly receives tribute in this literature. Fiscal sociology has become a very broad church that explores the place of tax and spending decisions within the social contract. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to consider the roots of fiscal sociology a bit more deeply. Thus, the circumstances under which Schumpeter coined the phrase are covered in a brief biographical review. Then, the development of the field is traced, from its roots with Schumpeter, to the development of branches and sub-fields, to the introduction (in the twenty-first century) of the New Fiscal Sociology. This chapter also introduces the idea that the introduction of the New Fiscal Sociology coincided with an important historical event, which has influenced the way we think both of Schumpeter, and the capabilities of fiscal sociology: the financial crash of 2008.