Description
Economic crises are some of the most significant events of recent decades, although as constructivist and discursive studies have consistently highlighted, these should be seen as socially constructed instead of observer-independent phenomena (Abdelal et al, 2013; Moffit, 2015). Much has indeed been written about the narratives that, by framing and making salient particular policy problems and solutions (Blyth, 2014; Borriello, 2017), serve as key discursive elements in crisis management efforts. Comparatively little emphasis, however, has been placed on the specific role played by macroeconomic indicators within these, particularly in relation to issue salience and evolution – something problematic, given their key role as technical frames within economic discourse (Mügge, 2016, 2020). This article attempts to provide insights into this by analysing the relationship between media coverage of macroeconomic indicators and of the construction of economic crisis narratives. Using media data collected via Lexis Nexis, and taking the example of the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis, we provide a longitudinal analysis of the salience and framing of macroeconomic indicators in the construction and evolution of economic crisis narratives over time. In doing so, this article contributes to the literatures on framing and on the politics of economic indicators, particularly by highlighting the role that these indicators play within the construction, evaluation, and resolution of crises in media discourses.
