ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 has shown how Italy and Germany developed markedly different systems of unemployment benefits under similar economic conditions of rapid growth and falling unemployment. In this chapter, I will explain how these two policy trajectories were influenced by the very different party systems in both countries. The German post-war party system, consisted (after a phase of consolidation) of only three parties. Ideological distances were moderate and centripetal competition prevailed. By contrast, Italian party politics was characterized by a high number of parties, ideological polarization, and centrifugal competition. These various political dynamics left their mark on the reconstruction and expansion of unemployment benefits after the war.
