Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Social Economy and Welfare State Expansion in Quebec

• In Event: 4432 - Welfare State Origin and Expansion

Abstract

The Quebec welfare state expanded towards the end of the 1990s, precisely when other countries were shrinking state benefits. Against what existing theories would predict, this expansion took place at a moment when labor’s power had weakened, the ruling Left party had scaled back its progressive commitments, and employers opposed the proposed reforms. Why did the Quebec welfare state expand in a broader context of retrenchment? We identify three main mechanisms to explain this outcome. First, labor-allied progressive movements in the province filled the gap left by unions’ retreat from direct actions and mass mobilization. Second, employers remained relatively weak and state-dependent, leading them to accept the government’s agenda as long as it did not differ significantly from their priorities of deficit and tax reduction. Third, the idea of the social economy served as a “floating signifier” in the province’s public policy debates of the 1990s, providing a framework within which unions, employers and the government could operate while assigning it different definitions and aims. After assessing the influence of these three mechanisms on Quebec welfare state expansion, we reflect on the theoretical implications of our argument for studies of social mobilization and policy development more broadly.

Authors

• Barry Eidlin, McGill University

• Emanuel Guay, Université du Québec à Montréal