Perception and Reality—Economic Inequality as a Driver of Populism?

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hüther ◽  
Matthias Diermeier
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
The Future ◽  
General Criticism ◽  
The Welfare State

Abstract Can the rise of populism be explained by the growing chasm between rich and poor? With regard to Germany, such a causal relationship must be rejected. Income distribution in Germany has been very stable since 2005, and people’s knowledge on actual inequality and economic development is limited: inequality and unemployment are massively overestimated. At the same time, a persistently isolationist and xenophobic group with diverse concerns and preferences has emerged within the middle classes of society that riggers support for populist parties. This mood is based on welfare chauvinism against immigration rather than on a general criticism of distribution. Since the immigration of recent years will inevitably affect the relevant indicators concerning distribution, an open, cautious but less heated approach is needed in the debate on the future of the welfare state. In order to address and take the local concerns of citizens seriously, an increased exchange with public officials on the ground is needed.

Zum Aufstieg und Niedergang des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses in Deutschland 1800-2010 - ein Forschungsprojekt

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Pierenkemper ◽  
Klaus F. Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Modern Concept ◽  
Employment Contract ◽  
Unemployment Rates ◽  
The Future ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Welfare State

AbstractThis paper attempts to trace the construction of the standard employment contract in Germany from the beginning of the 19th century onwards. In 20th century Germany, it was reinforced alongside with the consolidation of the welfare state and developed into the modern concept of the standard employment contract. Due to globalization forces and dynamics of capitalist market economies, the standard employment contract has turned into an obstacle in the way of modern economy’s progress. The future might be determined by increasing work flexibility, rising working hours, falling income and increasing unemployment rates, rendering the standard employment contract anachronistic and obsolete.

What's Globalization Got to Do with It? Economic Interdependence and the Future of European Welfare States

2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Hay
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Models ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Usa ◽  
State Regime ◽  
European Welfare States ◽  
The Welfare State

AbstractThe appeal to globalization as a non-negotiable external economic constraint plays an increasingly significant role in the linked politics of expectation suppression and welfare reform in contemporary Europe. Yet, although it threatens to become something of a self- fulfilling prophecy, the thesis that globalization entails welfare retrenchment and convergence is empirically suspect. In this paper it is argued that there is little evidence of convergence amongst European social models and that, although common trajectories can be identified, these have tended to be implemented more or less enthusiastically and at different paces to produce, to date, divergent outcomes. Second, I suggest that it is difficult to see globalization as the principal agent determining the path on which European social models are embarked since the empirical evidence points if anything to de-globalization rather than globalization. The implications of this for the future of the welfare state in Europe and for the USA as a model welfare state regime are explored.

Limits to Welfare

1978 ◽  
Vol 21 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 113-123
Author(s):  
Jon Eivind Kolberg
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Future ◽  
Relative Decline ◽  
The Welfare State

Some questions are raised regarding the future of the welfare state. For example: How are fundamental socio-political constellations affected by the pronounced, relative decline of labour force participants and corresponding significant welfare expansion? Changes in the top echelons of social structure, as well as the ‘bottom’ end of it, are discussed. The existence of welfare backlash sentiments in a Scandinavian welfare state (Norway) is indicated. Various counter-strategies to save the welfare state are presented. The final section focuses on the stamina of political systems. The main elements of Wilensky's model, and some of his results, are presented and criticized.

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