Race, the Knowledge Economy, and the Politics of Welfare State Adaptation

• In Event: The American Political Economy in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This chapter considers the politics of the American welfare state’s adjustment to demands of the knowledge economy (KE), through the lens of the U.S.’s racial divides. It argues that such divides help to explain why political economy expectations that, in KEs, democratic politics generate investments in the welfare state and higher education have failed to materialize in the U.S. case, as evidenced by the gap between citizens’ concerns about specific inadequacies in the safety net, and policy actions (Iversen and Soskice 2019; Federal Reserve Board 2018, 2019). After briefly highlighting the role of race in shaping the public-private character of American social policy provision historically, I describe three channels through which divides over race and immigration have factored into the contemporary politics of welfare state adaptation, first, through undermining the development of sustainable coalitions of KE winners and aspirants, second, through shaping how political parties address and are held accountable for social policy issues versus issues involving race and immigration, and third, through racialized policy feedback effects generated by less visible social programs (Michener 2019). These developments have implications both for the gap between citizens’ perceptions of the risks they face and the policies intended to address those risks, as well as for the ability of democratic politics to hold private third-party providers accountable.

Author

• Chloe Thurston, Northwestern University