It is a commonly held assumption that social democratic governments will defend the interests of labor. In Social Democracy Inside Out, 1999 IDRF Fellow David Rueda challenges that idea and the entrenched interpretations of the comparative political economy of industrialized democracies. He states that labor has become split into two clearly differentiated constituencies: those with secure employment (insiders) and those without (outsiders). By focusing on three labor policy areas in industrialized democracies: employment protection (representing the main concern of insiders), and active and passive labor market policies (the main concern of outsiders), Rueda argues that rather than defending labor interests, the goals of social democratic parties are often best served by pursuing policies that benefit only insiders. The implication of the insider-outsider model, then, is that social democratic government is associated with higher levels of employment protection legislation but not with labor market policy. To illustrate his argument, he provides an analysis of surveys and macrodata, and a detailed comparison of three case-studies: Spain, the UK and the Netherlands. Social Democracy Inside Out presents a significant contribution to the comparative politics and political economy literatures. Buy this book from Amazon.

Publication Details

Title
Social Democracy Inside Out: Government Partisanship, Insiders, and Outsiders in Industrialized Democracies
Authors
Rueda, Francisco David
Publisher
University of Oxford / Oxford University Press
Publish Date
2008
ISBN
978-0199234059
Citation
Rueda, Francisco David, Social Democracy Inside Out: Government Partisanship, Insiders, and Outsiders in Industrialized Democracies (University of Oxford / Oxford University Press, 2008).
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