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Public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state

Lindvall, Johannes LU orcid and Rueda, David (2018) p.89-118
Abstract

This chapter examines the long-run relationship between public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state. It argues that when large parties receive a clear signal concerning the median voter’s position on the welfare state, vote-seeking motivations dominate and the large parties in the party system converge on the position of the median voter. When the position of the median voter is more difficult to discern, however, policy-seeking motivations dominate, and party positions diverge. This argument implies that the effects of government partisanship on welfare state policy are more ambiguous than generally understood. The countries covered in the chapter are Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom (going back to the... (More)

This chapter examines the long-run relationship between public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state. It argues that when large parties receive a clear signal concerning the median voter’s position on the welfare state, vote-seeking motivations dominate and the large parties in the party system converge on the position of the median voter. When the position of the median voter is more difficult to discern, however, policy-seeking motivations dominate, and party positions diverge. This argument implies that the effects of government partisanship on welfare state policy are more ambiguous than generally understood. The countries covered in the chapter are Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom (going back to the 1960s). The number of observations is (necessarily) limited, but the diverse cases illustrate a common electoral dynamic centered around the position of the median voter.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Office-seeking, Policy-seeking, Political parties, Public opinion, Welfare state
host publication
Welfare Democracies and Party Politics : Explaining Electoral Dynamics in Times of Changing Welfare Capitalism - Explaining Electoral Dynamics in Times of Changing Welfare Capitalism
pages
30 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85051457984
ISBN
9780198807971
DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198807971.003.0004
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cb619fa1-2e73-4b41-a3f8-fae663e211b6
date added to LUP
2018-09-13 10:24:34
date last changed
2022-01-31 05:15:39
@inbook{cb619fa1-2e73-4b41-a3f8-fae663e211b6,
  abstract     = {{<p>This chapter examines the long-run relationship between public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state. It argues that when large parties receive a clear signal concerning the median voter’s position on the welfare state, vote-seeking motivations dominate and the large parties in the party system converge on the position of the median voter. When the position of the median voter is more difficult to discern, however, policy-seeking motivations dominate, and party positions diverge. This argument implies that the effects of government partisanship on welfare state policy are more ambiguous than generally understood. The countries covered in the chapter are Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom (going back to the 1960s). The number of observations is (necessarily) limited, but the diverse cases illustrate a common electoral dynamic centered around the position of the median voter.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lindvall, Johannes and Rueda, David}},
  booktitle    = {{Welfare Democracies and Party Politics : Explaining Electoral Dynamics in Times of Changing Welfare Capitalism}},
  isbn         = {{9780198807971}},
  keywords     = {{Office-seeking; Policy-seeking; Political parties; Public opinion; Welfare state}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{89--118}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  title        = {{Public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198807971.003.0004}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/oso/9780198807971.003.0004}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}