End Austerity: A Global Report on Budget Cuts and Harmful Social Reforms in 2022-25

This global report alerts of the dangers of a post-pandemic austerity shock, far more premature and severe than the one that followed the global financial crisis. Instead of harmful austerity measures (or “fiscal consolidation”), governments must urgently identify alternative financing options to support their populations that are coping with multiple and compounding crises − from health, energy, finance and climate shocks to unaffordable living costs. The report: (i) presents the incidence of budget cuts based on IMF projections in 189 countries until 2025; (ii) reviews the latest 267 IMF country reports to identify the main austerity measures being considered by Ministries of Finance and the IMF in each country; and (iii) presents alternative financing options, ultimately calling on countries to end austerity by creating fiscal space to finance a people’s recovery and progress toward human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).