ABSTRACT

This highly topical study reflects on the current problems faced by social democratic parties in government when espousing policies of severe pragmatism and fiscal prudence, and provides an historical medium-term perspective to both parties' substantial changes in labour market policies. There is now a good deal of interest in the Third Way and the Neue Mitte, and this book provides much needed empirical detail, and solid analysis of the substance of these ideas. It will be of great interest to students and researchers in comparative politics, social democracy and economic policy.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

Social democracy under pressure

part |2 pages

Part I Changing conditions for policy design

chapter 1|33 pages

Challenges of post-war social democracy

chapter 2|22 pages

Inside the party

Changing conditions and strategies

chapter 3|33 pages

Institutional constraints on party behaviour

Keynesian v. neo-liberal paradigms

part |2 pages

Part II The development of labour market policy

part |2 pages

Part III Conclusions

chapter 7|4 pages

Converging social democratic strategy

chapter |13 pages

Historical institutionalism applied

chapter |16 pages

Appendix I

The content analysis of labour market policies in party documents

chapter |1 pages

Appendix II

Interviewed policy actors from the Labour Party and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD)

chapter |1 pages

Appendix III

Labour market policy coding scheme for party political manifestos/manifestos and ‘major’ (mid-term) statements: Full standard coding frame (FCF)

chapter |1 pages

Appendix IV: Labour market policy coding scheme for party political programmes/manifestos and ‘major’ (mid-term) statements – collapsed coding frame (CCF)

Labour market policy coding scheme for party political programmes/manifestos and ‘major’ (mid-term) statements: Collapsed coding frame (CCF)

chapter |6 pages

Notes