Federalism and the Welfare State: New World and European Experiences

by Edited by Herbert Obinger , Stephan Leibfried , Francis G. Castles

• ISBN13: 9780521611848
• ISBN10: 0521611849
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In this unique and provocative contribution to the literatures of political science and social policy, ten leading experts question prevailing views that federalism always inhibits the growth of social solidarity. Their comparative study of the evolution of political institutions and welfare states in the six oldest federal states - Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the US - reveals that federalism can facilitate and impede social policy development. Development is contingent on several time-dependent factors, including degree of democratization, type of federalism, and the stage of welfare state development and early distribution of social policy responsibility. The reciprocal nature of the federalism-social policy relationship also becomes apparent: the authors identify a set of important bypass structures within federal systems that have resulted from welfare state growth. In an era of retrenchment and unravelling unitary states, this study suggests that federalism may actually protect the welfare state, and welfare states may enhance national integration.

Table of Contents

List of figures	viii
List of tables	ix
List of contributors	xi
Preface	xii
Note on illustrations	xiv
1 Introduction: federalism and the welfare state	1	(50)
Herbert Obinger, Francis G. Castles and Stephan Leibfried
Federalism and social policy	2	(6)
Varieties of federalism	8	(15)
Varieties of welfare states	23	(6)
How federalism affects the welfare state: theoretical approaches	29	(17)
The book at a glance	46	(5)
Part 1 New World experiences
2 Australia: federal constraints and institutional innovations	51	(38)
Francis G. Castles and John Uhr
Introduction	51	(2)
The federal settlement	53	(9)
Why no 'old politics' in Australia?	62	(19)
A dialectic of old and new?	81	(5)
The end of the Australian model?	86	(3)
3 Canada: nation-building in a federal welfare state	89	(49)
Keith Banting
Introduction	89	(1)
Territorial politics and Canadian federalism	90	(5)
Federalism and the expansion of the welfare state	95	(34)
The impact of the welfare state on federalism	129	(5)
Conclusions	134	(4)
4 The United States: federalism and its counter-factuals	138	(43)
Kenneth Finegold
Evaluating the effects of federalism	138	(7)
The American federal system	145	(7)
An overview of US social policies	152	(8)
The trajectory of US social policies	160	(15)
Conclusion	175	(6)
Part 2 European experiences
5 Austria: strong parties in a weak federal polity	181	(41)
Herbert Obinger
Introduction	181	(1)
The birth of the welfare state: the Habsburg monarchy	182	(6)
The German-Austrian Republic (1918-1919) and the First Republic (1920-1933/34)	188	(7)
Austro-fascism and National-Socialist rule (1934-1945)	195	(1)
The Second Republic (1945 onwards)	196	(13)
Federalism and the 'new politics' of the welfare state	209	(10)
Conclusion	219	(3)
6 Germany: co-operative federalism and the overgrazing of the fiscal commons	222	(41)
Philip Manow
Introduction	222	(3)
Bismarckian social legislation as a federalist compromise	225	(6)
Weimar and the conflict over resources and competencies	231	(11)
The Federal Republic's welfare state and fiscal joint decision traps	242	(18)
Conclusion	260	(3)
7 Switzerland: the marriage of direct democracy and federalism	263	(44)
Herbert Obinger, Klaus Armingeon, Giuliano Bonoli and Fabio Bertozzi
Introduction	263	(1)
Switzerland: a multi-tiered welfare state	264	(5)
The long road to a federal welfare state	269	(23)
Varieties of cantonal welfare regimes	292	(8)
Conclusion	300	(7)
Part 3 Conclusion
8 'Old' and 'new politics' in federal welfare states	307	(49)
Stephan Leibfried, Francis G. Castles and Herbert Obinger
What the case studies say	308	(9)
The impact of federalism in comparative perspective	317	(23)
Beyond 'old' and 'new politics': federalism as a laboratory for social experimentation	340	(3)
Feedback effects: the intended and unintended consequences of the welfare state	343	(10)
The future of the federal welfare state	353	(3)
Index	356