Industrialization, Political Systems and Welfare State Development in Developing Nations

• In Event: 4432 - Welfare State Origin and Expansion

Abstract

While the literature of the welfare state is fairly well developed, it is largely grounded in the developed world. There are several theories and approaches such as the structural functionalist approach, the structural-Marxist and the neo-Marxist perspectives, the neo-institutionalist perspective, and power resources theory that account for the emergence of and variations among the welfare states. Empirical support for these theories is largely limited within the developed world. Relevance of these theories in the contexts of the developing nations has hardly been tested. The study examines the relevance of the functionalist and the neo-institutionalist accounts of the welfare state -two relatively well-established theories in the developed world – in developing nations. Using data from the Social Security Programs throughout the World Surveys, ILO Social Protection Data 2010-2011, World Bank’s World Development Indicators data of 2013 and Polity Democracy Scales of 2010, the study examines six hypotheses derived from the structural-functionalist and the neo-institutionalist theories of the welfare state. The study finds significant relevance of these perspectives in explaining the growth and development of welfare states in the developing areas. The finding thus challenges any claim about the irrelevance of the theories of the welfare state in the contexts of the developing world and for limiting the focus of welfare state studies within the developed world.

Author

• Md Mahmudur Rahman Bhuiyan, North South University