Understanding fiscal politics in times of austerity: tax linkages in Britain and France

Why do national fiscal pathways diverge in times of austerity? Since the late 1970s, most of the OECD countries have either responded to such episodes by cutting spending and keeping taxes low, or by increasing taxes to match growing public spending. The UK and France are two striking examples of this divergence. Zbigniew Truchlewski explains how tax linkages can account for these opposing approaches.