| ID | 185023 |
| Title Proper | Benevolent Policies |
| Other Title Information | Bureaucratic Politics and the International Dimensions of Social Policy Expansion |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | HO, CARMEN JACQUELINE |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Research on the welfare state has devoted considerable attention to social policy expansion. However, little is known about why governments expand social policies serving groups with limited power on issues with low visibility. I call these “benevolent policies.” This class of social policies improves population well-being but produces minimal political gains for the governments enacting them. Why do governments expand benevolent policies if political incentives for reform are weak? I investigate this question by focusing on government responses to malnutrition. Drawing on nine months of fieldwork, including 71 interviews, I argue that the origins of policy expansion can be found in the government bureaucracy. Bureaucrats with technical expertise—technocrats—can play a defining role, deploying international pressure to court executive support and orchestrate policy change. Their actions help explain the Indonesian government’s unexpected expansion of nutrition policies, which serve low-income women and children and address micronutrient malnutrition. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 116, No.2; May 2022: p.615 - 630 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review 2022-06 116, 2 |
| Key Words | Bureaucratic Politics ; Benevolent Policies |