Insider–outsider representation and social democratic labor market policy

Bürgisser, Reto; Kurer, Thomas (2019). Insider–outsider representation and social democratic labor market policy. Socio-Economic Review, 19(3), pp. 1065-1094. Oxford University Press 10.1093/ser/mwz040

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Postindustrialization and occupational change considerably complicate partisan politics of the welfare state. This article asks about the determinants of contemporary social democratic labor market policy. We argue that the composition of their support base is a critical constraint and empirically demonstrate that the actual electoral clout of different voter segments decisively affects policy outcomes under left government. We calculate the electoral relevance of two crucial subgroups of the social democratic coalition, labor market insiders and outsiders, in 19 European democracies and combine these indicators with original data capturing the specific content of labor market reforms. The analysis reveals considerable levels of responsiveness and demonstrates that relative electoral relevance is consistently related to policy outcomes. Social democratic governments with a stronger support base among the atypically employed push labor market reforms on their behalf—and vice versa. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of policy-making in postindustrial societies.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Political Science

UniBE Contributor:

Bürgisser, Reto Simon

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 320 Political science
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 330 Economics

ISSN:

1475-1461

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Reto Simon Bürgisser

Date Deposited:

28 Aug 2019 15:40

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:30

Publisher DOI:

10.1093/ser/mwz040

Uncontrolled Keywords:

labor market institutions, social policy, political parties, employment, comparative politics, political economy

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.132436

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/132436

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