Welfare-State Regress in Western Europe: Politics, Institutions, Globalization, and Europeanization

Abstract

▪ Abstract The “new-politics” perspective derives welfare state retrenchment from postindustrial changes generating budget deficits and government attempts to benefit cuts, attempts largely resisted by powerful new groups of welfare-state clients. Comparative studies based on social expenditures show little or no role of class-based parties in the retrenchment process. In the power-resources perspective, focusing on the role of distributive conflicts between major interest groups, the post-war European welfare state included full employment in the “Keynesian welfare state,” based on a social contract markedly differing from the one in the United States. The return of mass unemployment in Europe constitutes a major welfare state regress and generates government budget deficits. Analyses based on social citizenship rights indicate major retrenchment in some countries, with political parties and welfare state institutions playing significant roles. The return of mass unemployment and cuts in social rights appear as a reworking of the European postwar social contract.

Disentangling the ‘New Liberal Dilemma’: On the relation between general welfare redistribution preferences and welfare chauvinism

“…However, as emphasized by Scandinavian scholars, this model of welfare state redistribution also draws legitimacy from a legal perspective that defines it in terms of citizenship status (Korpi, 2003;Korpi and Palme, 1998). This implies that welfare universalism does not automatically extend to any person living in the country, 4 and raises questions about the distinction between those who are 'in' (have citizenship), and those who are 'out' (do not have this status).…”

‘Marx’ or the Market? Intra-party Power and Social Democratic Welfare State Retrenchment

“…Some quantitative researchers find evidence for a declining role of partisan differences (e.g. Huber and Stephens 2001;Kittel and Obinger 2003), others find persistent partisan differences with left-wing incumbency positively correlated to welfare state generosity (Allan and Scruggs 2004;Amable et al 2006;Korpi 2003).…”

Home-ownership and asset-based welfare: the case of Belgium

“…This process was fuelled by a situation of 'permanent austerity', partly caused by 'transnational' developments such as economic globalisation and the economic and monetary integration of the European Union (e.g., Duffy 1999; Rhodes and Mény 1998;Scharpf 1998), with the associated stability pact and the acceptance of high levels of unemployment. It was furthermore intensified by a range of internal pressures caused by the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial society, such as growing service sector employment and low economic growth, changing family patterns and population ageing (Korpi 2003;Pierson 1996). However, looking back, the general picture is that welfare states are fairly resilient: 'the welfare state is here to stay, at least in the mid-term' (Starke 2006, 206).…”