| ID | 094978 |
| Title Proper | Issue compensation and right - wing government social spending |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Jensen, Carsten |
| Publication | 2010. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | It is well-established that prolonged left-wing incumbency has a positive long-term effect on welfare effort in terms of high levels of social spending and reduced levels of economic inequality and poverty. Prolonged left-wing incumbency also influences the institutional set-up of welfare states, in particular generating strong support for existing arrangements in countries with large welfare states. The issue ownership literature furthermore shows that the public comes to distrust right-wing parties as defenders of the welfare state. In countries that have a tradition of left-wing incumbency it is particularly important for right-wing governments to compensate for the distrust of the public because of the popularity of the welfare state and strong vested interests. While right-wing governments on average are negatively associated with social spending, there is a strong positive association between right-wing government and social spending in traditionally left-wing countries. It is even the case that right-wing governments in these countries spend more on social welfare than left-wing governments. This indicates that right-wing governments are forced to compensate for the lack of public trust by being even more generous than the left. |
| `In' analytical Note | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 49, No. 2; Mar 2010: p282-299 |
| Journal Source | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 49, No. 2; Mar 2010: p282-299 |
| Key Words | Right Wing ; Social Spending |