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The Re-Politicization of the Welfare State After the Global Financial Crisis

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The Re-Politicization of the Welfare State After the Global Financial Crisis 1 THE RE-POLITICIZATION OF THE WELFARE STATE AFTER THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS A dissertation presented by Ian Patrick McManus to The Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Political Science Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts April, 2016 2 THE RE-POLITICIZATION OF THE WELFARE STATE AFTER THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS by Ian Patrick McManus ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University April, 2016 3 Abstract In the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the challenges facing welfare states today are unprecedented. While government leaders and European Union (EU) officials were in broad agreement that the severity of recession called for decisive actions and strong social policy responses to limit the social costs of the crisis, national responses have differed significantly (OECD, 2010a). In order to understand why states have pursued such varied crisis management responses, it is vital to identify how the political and institutional factors driving social spending have been altered by this event. This dissertation therefore seeks to answer the critical question: How has the global economic crisis changed the politics of social spending across advanced capitalist economies? While recent comparative welfare state literature has begun to provide explanations for the factors which shape domestic social spending, little research has been dedicated to these effects in the post-crisis period. The lack of research focused on this timeframe is highly problematic as I argue that the global economic crisis has had profound cross-national effects which must be understood in order to explain post-crisis welfare reform trajectories and develop effective crisis management policies. This research examines whether the variables that explain social spending pre-crisis continue to do so in the post-crisis period. In doing so, it will provide key knowledge about the ways in which acute financial crises affect the politics of welfare states and address an important gap in the literature on social protection systems. 4 Acknowledgements At the conclusion of any momentous undertaking, it is natural for one to look back on the work accomplished and reflect upon those experiences, challenges, and most importantly individuals who helped bring the project to a successful completion. This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of countless people who aided in this work from the very smallest of tasks to the heaviest of lifting. It is to these individuals that I am greatly indebted and to whom I wish to address my heartfelt thanks. I would first like to thank my dissertation advisors, whose expertise, guidance, and continued support helped to shape my project. This dissertation has been made far better as a result of your input and efforts. I am greatly indebted to my dissertation co-chair Professor Mitchell Orenstein, who challenged and encouraged me to continually strive for the best dissertation project that I could achieve. My research has been greatly improved by your incredible knowledge, feedback, and insights. To my dissertation co-chair Professor Mai’s Davis Cross, your perpetual kindness, optimism, and academic direction has led me to pursue my best work. I owe a great deal of thanks to Professor Christopher Bosso, who has always been ready and willing to dedicate his time and energy. I want to thank Professor Alan Clayton-Matthews for his invaluable advice and expert review of my statistical models. I would also like to thank Professor Kirsten Rodine Hardy, who I had the opportunity to work with on a number of research projects and activities. You taught me a lot about the academic field and helped me to grow as a researcher. It has truly been a great pleasure working with all of you, and I look forward to our continued correspondence, collaboration, and research in the years to come. To the Northeastern Political Science Department staff, Barbara, Logan, Jermichael, Janet- Louise, and all the rest, you have been incredible. Hopefully, now I can stop bothering you with the thousands of small requests that you’ve had to field from me. You have been there when I 5 needed you and have made this entire process much less stressful and my path far easier to follow. To the staff, faculty, and graduate students at the Free University of Berlin, you made my time conducting research in Germany one of the best in my life. I made remarkable strides in my studies and am grateful to have spent my time exploring such as wonderful city. I also am thankful for the support I received from the staff in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. In particular, I would like to thank Jack McDevitt, the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and Erika Koss, the Assistant Dean for Research, Program Development, and Outreach. Thanks to your assistance and readiness to work with me directly, I was able to successfully receive several academic grants to pursue my research and advance my findings. I also want to give my thanks to Amy Killeen, the Director of Graduate Student Services, who has helped shepherd my thesis through its final stages to submission. I want to thank my colleagues in Boston, Amsterdam, and Berlin for your thoughtful willingness to engage in important conversations about our world, both political and not. It takes a certain kind of dedication, and perhaps madness, to commit to long hours and sleepless nights of research and study in order to gain some small understanding of our contemporary social, political, and economic systems. I am glad to have had so many wonderful colleagues committed to this exploration. To Mladen, thank you for the countless meaningful conversations over a good cup of coffee. I am not sure that we ever solved any of the world’s problems, but at least we took the time to sit and ponder them. To Jarvis, thank you for your constant optimism and excitement. It has made going through the program far more enjoyable. To Sidita, Aeshna, Matt, Mike, and Hans, it has been a pleasure working with each of you. I am excited about the research we accomplished and look forward to pursuing even bigger and better projects together in the future. To all of my other colleagues in the program, it has been excellent spending time with each of you. I learned a 6 great deal from the insight and passions of those around me and it has been an honor to grow and learn with you throughout my time at Northeastern. I want to thank all of my phenomenal friends in Boston, across the US, and throughout the world for being such an important part of my life and for not letting me take myself too seriously. At the end of the day it is how you spend your time and who you spend it with that truly matters, and I am unbelievable lucky for the good times that I have shared with all of you. You know who you are and you are awesome! Lastly, this dissertation is dedicated to my loved ones, who mean the world to me. To my family, whose unwavering love and support has been a constant source of inspiration. To my Mother and Father, you have encouraged me to explore the world around me with bright eyes and keen interest from the earliest days of my youth. To my brother Patrick and sister Caragh, I am grateful to have you in my life and am so glad to have had you there throughout this experience. Finally, to Liliya, you are the love of my life. Without your sacrifice, kindness, love, humor, intelligence, and support I would never have been able to achieve this goal. The completion of this work represents an important end to one chapter in our lives and I am excited for all of the good things that are to come! 7 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Crisis and the Politics of Social Spending .................................................................. 33 Chapter 3: Methods and Quantitative Data ................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4: The European Union ................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 5: Germany .................................................................................................................... 115 Chapter 6: The United Kingdom................................................................................................. 138 Chapter 7: Sweden ...................................................................................................................... 154 Chapter 8: Spain .......................................................................................................................... 172 Chapter 9: The Czech Republic .................................................................................................
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