5 - The Great Moderation and Crisis Flashcards
What is the Great Moderation?
A period between 1982 & 2007 of relative calm after the volatility and inflation of the Fordist crisis - a period of economic expansion & low inflation
What did economists think was different about this period?
Recessions were fewer/shorter/milder, productivity reached a permanent high plateau, inflation seemed tamed, end of booms & busts(Gordon Brown)
How did economic models change in this time period?
Different sources of profit(high fixed costs/low marginal costs), different tiypes of competition(innovation was highly prevalent), changed nature of work(flexible employment), changes in labour market(little work-life balance)
How did this time period affect social structures?
Less time to invest in children/family(Hoschschild), lack of home/work balance, less involvement in coomunity/public service(Putnam, xxxx)
What does financialisation mean - how did it contribute to the Great Moderation?
The process by which financial markets, institutions, and elites gain more influence over the economy - capital benefited rather than workers as labour rights had been restricted while the financial sector had been deregulated
What is Walmart’s business model?
Strongly anti-union, low wage/poor working conditions, price competition, flexible employment, exploit economies of scale
What is the Global Shift?
The movement of economic activity, such as manufacturing and services, from developed countries (MEDCs) to developing countries (LEDCs)
How were labour markets affected by the Global Shift?
Unions were weakened, precarity became common, a more complicated class system, growth of well-paid jobs & an increase in involuntary retirement
How was the state restructured?
It went from a welfare state to a work fare state - welfare benefits became increasingly conditional, privatisaton and deregulation became highly prevalent - resulted in events such as the 1986 ‘Big Bang’ as the financial markets reacted to heavy deregulation
