The Reform of Social Protection Systems in Mixed Market Economies

In: Pôle sud: revue de science politique, Band 1, Heft 28, S. 9-33

Abstract

This paper reviews the reform of social protection systems in two Mediterranean economies in the light of the Varieties of Capitalism theory. Far from providing an exhaustive and detailed explanation of change in all areas of social protection, the paper aims to show the need to integrate insights from different approaches to welfare reform. The starting point is the limited capacity of existing approaches when it comes to explaining reform dynamics in southern European economies. The paper uses a two-level analytical framework in order to understand the dynamics and direction of change in Italy and Spain. The integration of insights from the varieties of capitalism and the politics of welfare reform literature helps to achieve a better understanding of mechanisms underlying change in the Southern European hybrid political economies. The interactions between production regimes and protection systems are analyzed extensively. The organizational fragmentation of collective associations, the type of reform coalitions as well as the characteristics of the political system stand as important variables to explain change in social protection models of these countries. Adapted from the source document.