The right(s) and minimum income in hard times: Southern and Eastern Europe compared

The paper addresses a topic still largely under-researched in comparative welfare state literature: the role of right parties in the reform of last resort safety nets. More precisely, the study investigates minimum income schemes' reforms promoted during the Great Recession (2008-2013) by centr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European societies 2019-01, Vol.21 (1), p.33-51
Main Authors: Natili, Marcello, Jessoula, Matteo, Madama, Ilaria, Matsaganis, Manos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Income
Minimum wage
Political attitudes
political cleavages
political competition
Poverty
Reforms
Right parties
Safety
social policy
Social reform
Welfare reform
Welfare state
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Summary:The paper addresses a topic still largely under-researched in comparative welfare state literature: the role of right parties in the reform of last resort safety nets. More precisely, the study investigates minimum income schemes' reforms promoted during the Great Recession (2008-2013) by centre-right governments in three countries belonging to the European periphery: Italy, Portugal and Latvia. Despite common political orientation and increased problem pressure, these countries have gone through distinct reform trajectories in their social safety nets that may be labelled expansion (Latvia), retrenchment (Portugal), and continuity (Italy). Against this backdrop, the paper suggests that right parties display substantially different positions and pursue different reform strategies in anti-poverty policies. These differences can be explained by the diverse types of right parties and varying competition and coalition dynamics in the three countries.
ISSN:1461-6696
1469-8307
DOI:10.1080/14616696.2018.1494300