Alexandre Afonso

The impact of Populist Radical Right Parties on socio-economic policies

Because they are now members of most Western European parliaments, Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) have the potential to influence the formulation of socio-economic policies. However, scholarly attention so far has nearly exclusively focussed on the impact of PRRPs on what is considered their ‘core issue’, that is migration policy. In this paper, we provide the first mixed methods comparative study of the impact of PRRPs on redistributive and (de-)regulative economic policies. Combining quantitative data with qualitative case studies, our results show that the participation of PRRPs in right-wing governments has noteworthy implications for socio-economic policies. Due to the heterogeneous constituencies of PRRPs, these parties not only refrain from welfare state retrenchment but are also less inclined to engage in deregulation compared with right-wing governments without PRRP participation.

Networks of economic policy expertise in Germany and the United States in the wake of the Great Recession

ABSTRACT This article shows how the network structure of economic expertise can influence the diffusion of ideas in economic policymaking. Applying social network analysis, we analyse the networks of economic policy advice in the United States and Germany around the Council of Economic Advisors and the Sachverständigenrat. With the help of co-publication and institutional affiliation data, we argue that the more fragmented structure of academic expertise in Germany hindered the diffusion of new ideas and fostered continuity in the austerity paradigm. In contrast, the more connected structure of economic expertise in the United States facilitated the diffusion of ideas and changes in dominant ideas about economic intervention.

Migrant Workers or Working Women? Comparing Labour Supply Policies in Post-War Europe

ABSTRACT Why did some European countries choose migrant labour to expand their labour force in the decades that followed World War II, while others opted for measures to expand female employment via welfare expansion? The paper argues that gender norms and the political strength of the left were important structuring factors in these choices. Female employment required a substantial expansion of state intervention (e.g. childcare; paid maternity leave). Meanwhile, migrant recruitment required minimal public investments, at least in the short term, and preserved traditional gender roles. Using the contrasting cases of Sweden and Switzerland, the article argues that the combination of a weak left (labour unions and social democratic parties) and conservative gender norms fostered the massive expansion of foreign labour and a late development of female labour force participation in Switzerland. In contrast, more progressive gender norms and a strong labour movement put an early end to guest worker programmes in Sweden, and paved the way for policies to promote female labour force participation.

The Network Structure of Economic Policy Expertise in Germany and the United States during the Great Recession

This article shows how the network structure of economic expertise can influence the diffusion of ideas and economic policymaking in times of crisis. Applying social network analysis, we analyse the networks of economic policy advice in the United States and Germany around the Council of Economic Advisors and the Sachverstandigenrat. With the help of co-publication and institutional affiliation data, we argue that the more fragmented structure of academic expertise in Germany fostered continuity in the austerity paradigm by providing fewer channels for the diffusion of ideas, while the more connected nature of economic expertise in the United States facilitated the diffusion of ideas and quicker changes in dominant ideas about economic intervention.

Book Review: José M Magone, Politics in Contemporary Portugal: Democracy EvolvingPolitics in Contemporary Portugal: Democracy Evolving by MagoneJosé M. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2014. 293pp., £51.50 (h/b), ISBN 9781626370258

Portugal has received a great deal of attention in the context of the Eurozone crisis. Yet, so far there has not been any English-language handbook which could serve as an introduction to Portugal’s political system for an international audience. Existing books, such as Sebastián Royo’s Portugal in the Twenty-First Century (2011) or The Europeanization of Portuguese Democracy (2012) by António Costa Pinto and Nuno Severiano Teixeira, are edited volumes with a narrower focus. In contrast, José Magone’s Politics in Contemporary Portugal aims to serve as a general introduction to the main actors, institutions and processes of the Portuguese political system and therefore fills a major gap in the literature. The book consists of 12 chapters tackling various aspects of the Portuguese political system in comparative perspective, namely, the historical and economic context, executive– legislative relations, public administration, parties and elections, interest groups, the organisation of the state, the judiciary and broader external relations, most notably with the European Union. Magone provides a fairly nuanced analysis of progress and problems since the establishment of democracy in 1974. The underlying goal of the book is to assess the quality of Portuguese democracy compared to other industrial nations in areas such as civil society participation and political culture, administrative governance and education. As a whole, this assessment is not overly positive: even if Portugal has been making progress in terms of accountability and participation, notably under the influence of European integration, it has yet to make up for the handicap constituted by its late democratisation. The idea that delayed democratisation has hindered economic and democratic efficiency pervades many areas analysed throughout the book: the welfare state is deficient because it was built too late during a period of low growth; Portugal’s public administration engaged in new public management reforms before having a proper Weberian bureaucracy; and it adopted European policies before having a proper system of consultation and effective civil society organisations which could enhance the effectiveness of policies. As a whole, the book provides a thorough and well-documented overview of the Portuguese political system. In the light of the recent economic problems faced by the country, it would have been good to have a dedicated chapter devoted to economic structures rather than a series of elements scattered under ‘interest groups’ or ‘Europeanisation’. This being said, the author should be praised for an excellent review of the existing literature on Portuguese politics that will be of great value to scholars and students of comparative politics.

Social Concertation as a Political Strategy

This paper outlines evolutions in the underlying logic of corporatist policymaking in Western Europe. Starting from the discrepancy between the observable decline in the power of organised labour on the one hand, and the persistence of corporatist concertation as a mode of policymaking on the other, the paper outlines the remaining incentives for governments to involve trade unions and employers in policymaking. The paper shifts the focus from the traditional structural explanations of corporatist policymaking to political explanations emphasising political support, compliance and knowledge. The paper then outlines a few elements regarding the relationship between political and partisan configurations on corporatism.This paper outlines evolutions in the underlying logic of corporatist policymaking in Western Europe. Starting from the discrepancy between the observable decline in the power of organised labour on the one hand, and the persistence of corporatist concertation as a mode of policymaking on the other, the paper outlines the remaining incentives for governments to involve trade unions and employers in policymaking. The paper shifts the focus from the traditional structural explanations of corporatist policymaking to political explanations emphasising political support, compliance and knowledge. The paper then outlines a few elements regarding the relationship between political and partisan configurations on corporatism.

The Liberal Road to High Employment and Low Inequality? The Dutch and Swiss Social Models in the Crisis

This chapter analyses patterns of policy change and employment performance in the social models of the Netherlands and Switzerland from the 1990s until about 2012. We outline how these countries have been able to reconcile high employment levels, a lean welfare state and moderate levels of income inequality, three policy objectives that have been considered irreconcilable in standard accounts of employment performance in advanced political economies. In both countries, income equality is primarily achieved within the market rather than by redistribution. Low levels of market inequality are underpinned by high employment rates made possible by cooperative institutions for wage moderation, coupled with a series of entry routes into the labor market for specific groups often marginalized in Bismarckian welfare models, such as young workers and women. Divergent performance during the crisis, however, has revealed the importance of domestic demand-side factors. In Switzerland, high immigration stimulated demand and compensated for an adverse environment for exports. In the Netherlands, the debt-driven boom and bust in private consumption related to volatile housing prices was aggravated by the turn to austerity, These two factors raise questions about the long-term viability of recent developments in both countries.

Whose Interests Do Radical Right Parties Really Represent? The Migration Policy Agenda of the Swiss People´s Party between Nativism and Neoliberalism

This paper analyses the economic interests which underpin the immigration policy agenda of the strongest radical populist right party in Western Europe, the Swiss People´s Party. Rather than understanding this agenda merely as the manifestation of anti-immigration resentment or the exploitation thereof, it proposes to analyse it as a political-economic agenda seeking to articulate the contradictory interests of its two main electoral clienteles, namely small business owners and blue-collar workers. Hence, while it claims to oppose immigration to protect the domestic indigenous workforce, the Swiss People´s Party also seeks to maintain sources of cheap migrant labour for small businesses. Drawing upon an analysis of party stances over policy reforms in the domains of cross-border mobility and undeclared work, it shows that the interests of small business owners tend to prevail when issues are not very salient politically, while party elites shift back to a more anti-immigration agenda when issues become very salient politically.This paper analyses the economic interests which underpin the immigration policy agenda of the strongest radical populist right party in Western Eu- rope, the Swiss Peoples Party. Rather than understanding this agenda merely as the manifestation of anti-immigration resentment or the exploita- tion thereof, it proposes to analyse it as a political-economic agenda seeking to articulate the contradictory interests of its two main electoral clienteles, namely small business owners and blue-collar workers. Hence, while it claims to oppose immigration to protect the domestic indigenous workforce, the Swiss Peoples Party also seeks to maintain sources of cheap migrant la- bour for small businesses. Drawing upon an analysis of party stances over policy reforms in the domains of cross-border mobility and undeclared work, the paper outlines the contradictions and conflicts related to the artic- ulation of these interests.