Public policy-making and risk profiles
Scandinavian centre-right governments after the turn of the millennium
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6261109 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christoph Arndt (0000-0001-9296-2319, Aarhus University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 495-518 |
| Publication date | 2017-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1755-7739 • E-ISSN: 1755-7747 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1755773916000072 |
| OpenAlex | W2336957386 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 26 |
Recent theoretical advances in the welfare state literature have outlined the differences between labour market- and life course-related schemes as centre-right parties have difficulties in enacting retrenchment on life course-related schemes because these concern every voter. In contrast, the textbook risk profile of centre-right parties’ electorates allows them to cutback on labour market-related schemes as these parties get negligible support from workers and low-income voters. Conducting a comparative case study of recent Danish and Swedish centre-right governments, this article analyses the stylized assumptions on the party level by comparing two similar centre-right governments, which differed in their voter coalitions’ risk profile. I first argue that centre-right governments are generally constrained by the popular entrenchment of the universal welfare state when it comes to life course-related welfare schemes. Second, I argue that the leeway on labour market-related schemes is contingent on the actual risk profile of the centre-right’s electorate, and thereby move beyond the stylized assumptions from recent literature. In this respect, the Danish centre-right did, in contrast to its Swedish counterpart, gain power with an unusual high support among working-class voters which constrained its latitude on labour market-related schemes. I find that the Danish centre-right governments after 2001 acted with bound hands thanks to its high working-class backing, and refrained from outright cutbacks on both labour market- and life course-related schemes until 2010 except for labour market outsiders. In contrast, the Swedish centre-right had a much lower working-class backing and therefore engaged in some outright cutbacks of labour market-related schemes such as unemployment benefits directly after taking office 2006. The centre-right’s actual voter coalition’s risk profile is thus an important determinant for its public policies and its leeway for policy-seeking
Danish · Economics · Labour economics · Macroeconomics · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Retrenchment · Stylized fact · Welfare · Welfare state · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Risks at Work
The Politics of Welfare State Reform in Continental Europe
Denmark
Dismantling the Welfare State?
The Electoral Consequences of Third Way Welfare State Reforms
Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies
The Politics of Social Solidarity
The Democratic Class Struggle
Restricting access to social protection for immigrants in the Danish welfare state
Attitudes towards redistributive spending in an era of demographic ageing
Making the difference in social Europe
Varieties of Democracy
The three worlds of welfare capitalism
Losing the Issue, Losing the Vote
Political parties, institutions, and the dynamics of social expenditure in times of austerity
Labour market- versus life course-related social policies
The Swedish Conservative Party and the Welfare State
Disrupted Exchange and Declining Corporatism
Structural stress or deliberate decision? Government partisanship and the disempowerment of unions in Denmark
Issue compensation and right‐wing government social spending
Beyond Welfare
Political Partisanship and Welfare State Reform in Advanced Industrial Societies
Marketization via Compensation
Political Parties and Macroeconomic Policy
New Politics and Class Politics in the Context of Austerity and Globalization
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2024 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |