Path dependency and convergence of three worlds of welfare policy during the Great Recession: UK, Germany and Sweden

Abstract

This paper investigates policy responses to the Great Recession in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Faced with the global financial crisis in 2007, responses in the respective countries differed considerably and followed the "old" paths of their institutional legacies. We focus on labour market and social welfare policies and demonstrate how these differing responses were shaped by path dependent ideational paradigms. Since these paradigms are first and foremost carried by policy communities, the analysis does not, in contrast to prior studies, only rely on policy documents but outlines the process as seen from the perspective of key public officials and experts in the respective fields. The paper shows how the crisis was perceived and which kinds of arguments were used for explaining the liberal (UK), conservative (Germany) and social-democratic (Sweden) responses to crisis.

Youth‐oriented active labour market policies and economic crisis: Explaining policy effort in Greece and Portugal

“…In contrast to prior studies, this analysis stands in the middle arguing that convergence and divergence can be observed simultaneously (Papadopoulos, ; Kiess et al, ). High levels of problem pressure are expected to induce governments to adopt policy measures irrespective of existing policy arrangements (Tosun, Unt and Wadensjö, ).…”

Do gender regimes matter? Gender differences in involvement in anti-austerity protests - a comparison of Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom

“…Responding to the great recession, in the UK public sector cuts considerably exceed other ways to balance the budget (Farnsworth & Irving, 2012, p. 138). In contrast Sweden reversed the introduction of neoliberal policies and returned to earlier, generous policies (Kiess et al, 2017). Thus, rather than the depth of crisis the interaction between the generosity of the welfare state and the government composition explain the response to the economic crisis.…”

“…As noted above, although Sweden also experienced a gradual demise of the welfare state (Schierup and Alund, 2011;Therborn, 2018), this was to some extent reversed during the great recession (Kiess et al, 2017). In contrast to Spain and the UK, Sweden engaged in a 'stabilizing strategy' and extended the amount and coverage of its social benefit and increased the in-work tax credit to preserve a high level of consumption and to prevent 'traumatization' and declining birth rates due to family and other social benefits (Bothfeld & Rouault, 2015, p. 76).…”

“…Not even Sweden, which has traditionally been characterised by a generous welfare state has been spared from neoliberalist policies accompanied by worsening working conditions, a rise in youth unemployment, and urban segregation (Schierup and Alund, 2011;Schierup, Ålund, & Neergaard, 2018;Therborn, 2018). However, despite the ubiquity of neoliberal policies, governments responded differently to the great recession (Kiess, Norman, Temple, & Uba, 2017).…”

Explaining Policy Convergence and Divergence through Policy Paradigm Shifts: A Comparative Analysis of Agricultural Risk Governance in OECD Countries

“…The concept of policy convergence has been used in research with varying degree of success to explain policy change within international policies (Howlett and Rayner 2006;Kiess et al 2017). The level of support for selected risk management tools can serve as an indicator for the relative importance of agricultural risk management within a country's agricultural policy portfolio.…”