Beyond Social Provision: Integrating Regulation into the Study of Welfare States

• In Event: Macro Determinants of Inequality: The Role of Politics, Policies, and Institutions (Co-sponsored by Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Section)

Abstract

This paper makes three contributions to the study of welfare states. First, drawing on the foundational theories of Marshall, Polanyi, and Esping-Andersen, we make a case for including "regulatory welfare" alongside social provision in the study of welfare states. Next, we assemble a dataset of 22 countries to identify regulatory clusters and compare them with clusters that have been identified on the basis of provision. Although some countries continue to cluster together with those with which they have typically been grouped, most do not, suggesting that regulation and provision regimes operate according to different logics. Finally, we examine how these two dimensions of the welfare state jointly evolved over time. We find that 1) family allowances and old age pensions have gotten more generous across these countries; 2) the regulation of working time, particularly annual leave entitlements, has also increased; but 3) employment protections have declined, especially for temporary workers. These findings suggest that, on the side of regulation, states are attempting to balance the interests of employers and workers by promoting labor market flexibility while carving out more time for leisure and other pursuits. On the side of provision, they are doing more to address demographic pressures without mitigating the increasing precarity that labor market deregulation has brought.

Authors

• Elisabeth Anderson, New York University Abu Dhabi

• Sabino Kornrich, New York University-Abu Dhabi