Yet another paradigm change? Narratives and competing policy paradigms in Brazilian labour market policies

Abstract

When policy paradigms compete for sovereignty, a well thoughtout narrative story is essential to arguing why one paradigm is superior to another. Narrative stories can be applied to underline the imperative for paradigmatic policy change. Combining Hall's work on policy paradigms with Stone's conceptualisation of narrative stories, this article explores how narrative stories are applied to support or oppose competing policy paradigms and proposes that the systematic analysis of narrative stories fosters a better understanding of policy paradigms. The case of labour market policy in Brazil is used to exemplify the argument: 13 years of Workers' Party rule induced far-reaching changes in Brazilian social and labour market policy based on demand-orientation. Following the impeachment of President Rousseff, interim-President Temer initiated major labour reforms, reviving liberal narratives. This article explores how these policy changes are representative of the competition between policy paradigms, which are reflected in party-political competition, and how recent paradigm change is supported by the construction of narrative stories.

Multi‐Level Governance Feedback and Health Care in Italy in the Aftermath of Covid‐19

“…Far-reaching policy changes often consist of paradigm change. Parametric changes, instead, occur when key principles are stable while instruments and their settings change (Vogeler, 2019). In what follows, we refer to three dimensions of change and stability:…”

“…3. The policy substance: We distinguish between changes in the policy goals (e.g., universal versus selected protection), instruments (from coordination to money-based programmes), and settings (cutbacks versus additional financial resources; Hall, 1993, Vogeler, 2019.…”