ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts in the preceding chapters of this book. A comparative analysis has been carried out on how fourteen large and small countries in Western, Eastern and Southern Europe have responded to the fiscal crisis in the period 2008-2012. The special attention was devoted to the conceptual exploration of the political aspects of consolidation. It gave a description and analysis of the economic aspects of consolidation measures. It also provided a description and analysis of types and stages of decision-making. The general overview of the economic aspects of the consolidation measures was based on the OECD cross-country report on fiscal consolidation, following the normal economic distinction between expenditure and revenue measures, and the further subdivision of expenditures into operational, programme and investment cuts. The data about the political decision-making were collected from both the qualitative country case studies and the quantitative outcomes of the COCOPS public executives survey.
