| ID | 102560 |
| Title Proper | Electoral consequences of welfare state retrenchment |
| Other Title Information | blame avoidance or credit claiming in the era of permanent austerity? |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Giger, Nathalie ; Nelson, Moira |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article challenges the dominant assumptions in the literature that cutting social policy incurs voter wrath and that political parties can efficiently internalise electoral fallout with blame avoidance strategies. Drawing on the diverse literature on the role of partisanship in the period of permanent austerity, several partisan hypotheses on the relationship between social policy change and electoral outcomes are posited. The results indicate that religious and liberal parties gain votes, and thereby are able to 'claim credit', for retrenching social policy. None of the other coefficients for the effect of social policy cuts reach significance, raising the question of whether parties excel at blame avoidance or the public fails to place blame in the first place. |
| `In' analytical Note | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 50, No. 1; Jan 2011: p.1-23 |
| Journal Source | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 50, No. 1; Jan 2011: p.1-23 |
| Key Words | Social Policy ; Liberal Parties ; Electoral Fallout ; Blame Avoidance ; Welfare State Retrenchment |