The Economic Crisis, Partisanship, and the Welfare State

In light of the economic crisis, many countries have engaged in social policy changes. These transformations ultimately affect the nature of their social protection systems. Given the new context, I ask: Are there differences in the measures and strategies introduced by Left and Right governments during the economic crisis? In other words, does partisanship matter to understand the direction (cuts vs. expansion) and nature of recent changes in social policies and welfare states? If so, how? If not, why not? Based on the findings of the vast literature on the relationship between partisanship and the welfare states, the color of parties might matter in different ways for welfare states. For instance, Huber and Stephens (2001) show that partisanship help us explain cross-national differences during the Golden Era; yet, they argue that this variable is not as useful to explain the retrenchment era. Others, such as Rueda (2007), argue that parties’ policies are shaped by ‘insider-outsider’ dynamics.

As the size of ‘outsiders’ increases and Left and Right governments must address difficult domestic conditions. Do any of these dynamics capture recent developments? If not, what narrative captures the current situation? To address the aforementioned questions, this paper will, first, enumerate and review recent reforms of welfare states in advanced industrial countries. Second, by using these findings, the paper will assess the relationship between partisanship and the nature of recent changes. All in all, by focusing on recent dynamics, I seek to contribute to the literature on the relationship between partisanship and the welfare state. In addition, this paper will shed light on: 1) the nature of recent social policy changes, and 2) the strategies launched by governments and parties to tackle the economic crisis.