Which Distributive Policies Resonate with Working Class Voters in Europe?

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

The electoral landscapes of Western Europe have changed profoundly over the past four decades, with one of the key developments being the dwindling share of working-class votes in the electorates of (mainstream) left-wing parties, and the apparent inability of these parties to attract more working class votes with traditional pro-redistribution electoral claims. On the other hand, right-wing populist parties in particular manage to win the approval of increasing shares of working class voters. In reaction, many left-wing parties have readjusted their programmatic stances on economic issues, trying to preserve working class votes with more leftist stances. However, these appeals seem largely ineffective. Hence, this panel addresses the question which programmatic claims are likely to resonate with working class voters. The different papers all argue that we need to rethink both the demand-side factors that drive working class voters’ economic preferences, as well as the supply-side appeals and policies they respond to. On the demand-side, the paper by Burgoon proposes positional deprivation as a driver of economic-distributive preferences. Linking demand- and supply-side, Bremer and Häusermann/Ares/Enggist/Pinggera argue that it is insufficient to identify the policies working class voters support. What counts is the intensity of their support. They show that while working class voters (still) support generous social policies and balanced budgets, this pattern masks the fact that they prioritize social protectionism. Häusermann et al.’s concept of economic opportunity thereby nicely rejoins Burgoon’s focus on positional deprivation. Barnes and Hicks complement the panel by showing that the way budgetary austerity reforms are designed matters for the extent to which governments have to fear negative reactions. Their contribution links very directly to Bremer’s paper in that both contributions study the conditions under which austerity policies may not only leave voters indifferent, but may even gather their approval.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 15: European Politics and Society

Individual Presentations

• Positional Deprivation and Support for Redistribution and Social Insurance - Brian Burgoon, University of Amsterdam

• Attitudes on Austerity: Class, Partisanship, and Fiscal Preferences in Europe - Björn Kristen Bremer, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

• Popular Austerity - Lucy Barnes, University College London; Timothy Hicks, University College London

Chair

• Sara Watson Ohio State University

Discussants

• Sara Watson Ohio State University

• Noam Gidron Hebrew University