Reexamining the Relationship Between Skills and the Development of Social Protection

This paper provides a first systematic examination of the conjecture that differences in the density of vocational skills increase political demand for the adoption of social policies. Drawing on a novel dataset that maps the variation in skill composition in Germany, which uses disaggregated information for the skill profiles of over 150 occupations, we examine the relationship between the density of vocational skills in different districts and legislative support for social insurance policies that were adopted in Germany between 1880 and 1914. More specifically, we explore whether politicians from districts with a higher density of existing skills were supportive for the adoption of social policy and the relative importance of skills in relationship to other economic and political variables in the district in explaining demand for social policy. The paper is based on a multi-method research design and combines regression analysis using roll call votes data with process tracing on legislative decision making processes.