Social Democracy Inside Out : Partisanship and Labor Market Policy in Advanced Industrialized Democracies

The analysis in this book disputes entrenched interpretations of the comparative political economy of industrialized democracies. It questions, in particular, the widely-held assumption that social democratic governments will defend the interests of labor. The evidence shows that labor has become split into two clearly differentiated constituencies: those with secure employment (insiders) and those without (outsiders). The book focuses on three policy areas: employment protection (representing the main concern of insiders), and active and passive labor market policies (the main concern of outsiders). The main thrust of the argument is that the goals of social democratic parties are often best served by pursuing policies that benefit only insiders. The implication of the book's insider-outsider model is that social democratic government is associated with higher levels of employment protection legislation but not with labor market policy. The book also argues that there are factors can reduce insider-outsider differences and weaken their influence on social democratic governments. These hypotheses are explored through the triangulation of different methodologies. The book provides an analysis of surveys and macrodata, and a detailed comparison of three case-studies: Spain, the UK and the Netherlands. Its reinterpretation of the challenges facing social democracy will represent a significant contribution to the comparative politics and political economy literatures. ## Abstract The analysis in this book disputes entrenched interpretations of the comparative political economy of industrialized democracies. It questions, in particular, the widely-held assumption that social democratic governments will defend the interests of labour. The evidence shows that labour has become split into two clearly differentiated constituencies: those with secure employment (insiders) and those without (outsiders). The book focuses on three policy areas: employment protection (representing the main concern of insiders), and active and passive labour market policies (the main concern of outsiders). The main thrust of the argument is that the goals of social democratic parties are often best served by pursuing policies that benefit only insiders. The implication of the book's insider-outsider model is that social democratic government is associated with higher levels of employment protection legislation but not with labour market policy. The book also argues that there are factors that can reduce insider-outsider differences and weaken their influence on social democratic governments. These hypotheses are explored through the triangulation of different methodologies. The book provides an analysis of surveys and macrodata and a detailed comparison of three case-studies: Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands. Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Tables......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 13 1. Introduction......Page 14 2. Governments and Policy: The Insider–Outsider Partisanship Model......Page 24 3. The Preferences of Insiders and Outsiders: Testing the Model’s Assumptions about Individual Interests......Page 49 4. The Relationship between Partisan Government and Policy: An Analysis of OECD Data......Page 81 5. Partisan Government and Employment Protection......Page 117 6. Unemployment Vulnerability and Active Labor Market Policies......Page 160 7. Partisanship, Institutions, and Social Policy......Page 191 8. Insiders, Outsiders, Partisanship, and Policy: Concluding Remarks......Page 225 References......Page 236 I......Page 258 T......Page 259 W......Page 260 A controversial new analysis of the relationship between social democratic governments and labor. The book will make a major contribution to the comparative political economy of industrialized democracies