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The Universal Welfare State As A Social Dilemma

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  • Bo Rothstein

Abstract

A major finding within comparative welfare state research is the differences in welfare state programs among the industrialized Western democracies. Contrary to most economic analysis, it is argued that many welfare state programs should be defined as public goods and thus be analysed within a `social dilemma' approach. A model is presented to show that if voters/taxpayers act out of self-interest, both a selective/minimal and an encompassing/universal welfare state are likely outcomes (i.e., a multiple equilibria situation). The different outcomes cannot be explained by the importance of the ideology of ruling political parties or by citizens in these different countries having different basic values about social justice. Rather, the argument is that the puzzle of structurally similar countries managing this social dilemma very differently can be solved by institutional theory, specified as the theory of contingent consent.

Suggested Citation

  • Bo Rothstein, 2001. "The Universal Welfare State As A Social Dilemma," Rationality and Society, , vol. 13(2), pages 213-233, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:13:y:2001:i:2:p:213-233
    DOI: 10.1177/104346301013002004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Castles, Francis G. & Obinger, Herbert, 2006. "Towards more comprehensive measures of social support: adding in the impact of taxes and private Spending or netting out the impact of politics on redistribution?," Working papers of the ZeS 04/2006, University of Bremen, Centre for Social Policy Research (ZeS).
    3. Wim van Oorschot & Femke Roosma, 2015. "The social legitimacy of differently targeted benefits," ImPRovE Working Papers 15/11, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    4. Bergh, Andreas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2014. "Trust, welfare states and income equality: Sorting out the causality," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 183-199.
    5. Bergh, Andreas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2013. "Trust, Welfare States and Income Equality: What Causes What?," Working Paper Series 994, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    6. Adeline Otto & Dimitri Gugushvili, 2020. "Eco-Social Divides in Europe: Public Attitudes towards Welfare and Climate Change Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Annalena Oppel, 2022. "Social protection floor gaps and pandemic relief measures: a case for universalism?: Exploring scalability through targeted versus universalist approaches," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-127, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Gibrán Cruz‐Martínez, 2019. "Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1-2), pages 31-56, July.
    9. Kim, Wonik, 2008. "Enfranchisement and the welfare state: Institutional design of unemployment compensation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1660-1678, August.
    10. Laurence, James & Sprong, Stefanie & McGinnity, Frances & Russell, Helen & Hingre, Garance, 2024. "Changing social and political attitudes in Ireland and Northern Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS170.
    11. Luis Felipe Giraldo & Kevin M Passino, 2017. "Dynamics of Cooperation in a Task Completion Social Dilemma," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, January.
    12. Ronki Ram, 2012. "Reading Neoliberal Market Economy with Jawaharlal Nehru," South Asian Survey, , vol. 19(2), pages 221-241, September.
    13. Andreas Bergh, 2004. "The Universal Welfare State: Theory and the Case of Sweden," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 52(4), pages 745-766, December.
    14. Sven Oskarsson & Torsten Svensson & PerOla Öberg, 2009. "Power, Trust, and Institutional Constraints," Rationality and Society, , vol. 21(2), pages 171-195, May.
    15. Nicholas Charron & Niklas Harring & Victor Lapuente, 2021. "Trust, regulation, and redistribution why some governments overregulate and under‐redistribute," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 3-16, January.
    16. Gholamreza Askari & Madjid Eshaghi Gordji & Choonkil Park, 2019. "The behavioral model and game theory," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    17. Martinussen, Pål E., 2022. "Let's stick together: The role of self-interest and ideological beliefs for supporting a ‘solidaristic’ health policy in Norway," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 262-268.
    18. Larysa Tamilina & Natalya Tamilina, 2022. "Four Faces of Marginalisation: Variations in Institutional Frameworks of Welfare State Provisions and Social Trust in Europe," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 21(1), pages 65-92, June.
    19. Busemeyer, Marius R., 2021. "Health care attitudes and institutional trust during the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from the case of Germany," Working Papers 01, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
    20. Cruz-Martinez, Gibran, 2019. "Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism," SocArXiv y9uk6, Center for Open Science.

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