緊縮政策

緊縮政策（）是一套政治經濟政策，旨在通過削減支出，增加稅收或兩者結合來減少政府預算赤字。一個國家的政府若發現難以償還國家債務，便會考慮採用緊縮政策。這些政策旨在通過拉近政府收支差距來減少預算赤字，減輕還債難度。緊縮政策還能向債權人和信貸評級機構展示政府的財政紀律。

在大多數宏觀經濟學模型中，緊縮政策通常伴隨政府支出下降而使失業率上升。削減政府支出會減少公營機構的就業機會，這亦可能發生在私營機構身上。此外，加稅可以通過減少家庭可支配收入來減少消費。有人認為減少支出可能導致更高的債務GDP比率，因為政府支出本身就是GDP的組成部分。例如在大蕭條之後，雖然預算赤字有所減少，但很多歐洲國家執行緊縮政策之後均出現了失業率上升和債務GDP比率上升的情況。

當一個經濟體在處於或接近產能狀態運作時，較高的短期赤字支出（刺激）可能會導致利率上升，導致私人投資減少，進一步壓抑經濟增長。在產能過剩的地方，刺激措施可能導致就業和產出增加。

參考資料
外部連結

• [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/23/business/global/20100923-europenow.html?ref=global#/0 The Austerity Zone: Life in the New Europe] – videos by The New York Times
• [http://socialiststudies.com/index.php/sss/issue/view/17 Socialist Studies Special Edition on Austerity (2011)]
• [http://www.voxeu.org/article/panic-driven-austerity-eurozone-and-its-implications Panic-driven austerity in the Eurozone and its implications Paul De Grauwe, Yuemei Ji, 21 February 2013]
• [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/jun/06/how-case-austerity-has-crumbled/ NYT Review of Books – Paul Krugman – How the Case for Austerity Has Crumbled – June 2013]
• [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2013/wp1301.pdf IMF Working Paper-Olivier Blanchard and Daniel Leigh-Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers-January 2013]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/opinion/how-austerity-kills.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 How Austerity Kills] . The New York Times. 12 May 2013.
• [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139105/mark-blyth/the-austerity-delusion The Austerity Delusion; Why a Bad Idea Won Over the West] May/June 2013 Foreign Affairs
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bczer-1QwNU Video: Richard Koo debates Kenneth Rogoff about the need for austerity] , inaugural conference, 22 April 2010
• [http://www.lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/austerity?language=en "Debt may be 'Schuld' in German, but it's 'belief' in Italian and 'faith' in English" Interview with Mark Blyth] Science Portal L.I.S.A., 26 January 2015
• [http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/greek_death_toll_study_connects_austerity_measures_suicide_20150204 Austerity’s Greek Death Toll: Study Connects Strict Measures to Rise in Suicides] . . 4 February 2015.
• [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/17/hundreds-of-mental-health-experts-issue-rallying-call-against-austerity Hundreds of mental health experts issue rallying call against austerity] . The Guardian. 17 April 2015.
• (April 2015). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1OnDgBNlRU The EuroDivision Contest] , a satire/parody of austerity
• [http://theravingreporter.com/austerity-the-new-normal/ Is austerity the new normal? A look at Greece and France, Tony Cross]
• [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/tsipras-syriza-referendum-debt-euro/ Life Under Austerity] . Jacobin. 12 July 2015.
• [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/27/austerity-policies-do-more-harm-than-good-imf-study-concludes Austerity policies do more harm than good, IMF study concludes] . The Guardian. 27 May 2016.
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/20/when-left-leaning-parties-support-austerity-their-voters-start-to-embrace-the-far-right/ When left-leaning parties support austerity, their voters start to embrace the far right] . The Washington Post. November 20, 2018