When the Department of Finance lost access to market borrowing in 2010 after a decade of loose budgets, even looser bank lending and careless regulatory oversight, the state had no choice but to borrow from the troika of the IMF, the European Central Bank and an ad hoc European Union lending facility.  The ensuing fiscal adjustment featured tax increases and a collapse in public capital spending, halving in volume over a few short years. Contrary to popular recollection, the government avoided reductions in core current programmes such as old age pensions and unemployment pay, where nominal rates of payment were…

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