Insider–outsider representation and social democratic labor market policy

Abstract

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.

‘Dual’ labour market? Patterns of segmentation in European labour markets and the varieties of precariousness

“…This resonates with the literature on cross-national variations of labour market dualisation (e.g. Bürgisser and Kurer, 2021; Eichhorst and Marx, 2012; Schwander and Häusermann, 2013). From this, we can infer that welfare arrangements and political economy may shape different patterns of labour market segmentation.…”

Under pressure. Economic constraints, electoral politics and labour market reforms in Southern Europe in the decade of the Great Recession

“…Second, we show how structural economic constraints and electoral dynamics interact in shaping policy agendas, and provide a systematic categorisation of ideal-typical reform strategies available to parties depending on the composition of their electoral base. Our argument contributes to bridging the literatures on EU-related exogenous pressures, growth models (Baccaro & Pontusson 2016;Johnston & Regan 2016), producer group politics and electoral politics (Amable & Palombarini 2009;Beramendi et al 2015;Bürgisser & Kurer 2019).…”

Comparing Capitalisms: Debates, Controversies and Future Directions

“…It would also lead to a greater understanding of the material conditions under which more sustainable models of capitalism emerge and prosper. Interestingly, CMEs have adopted renewable energy much more vigorously than have LMEs, where populist politicians have become shrill in their evangelization of hydrocarbons (Wood et al, 2019). Exploring the interlinkages between stakeholder and environmental well-being, and how any counter movement from neo-liberal excess can deepen them, represents, therefore, a fertile area for future enquiry.…”