Work

Stages, orders & periods of welfare state development: a global sequence analysis of social policy dynamics

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Comparative social policy research frequently deals, implicitly or explicitly, with time and timing in the development of welfare states. We identify three types of such temporal theorizations – i.e. stage models, timed orders, and periodizations – and analyze their relevance for global social policy development. We do so by employing sequence and cluster analysis to a new comprehensive dataset of social policy adoption in 164 countries over 140 years (1880–2019). While our analysis reveals certain common stages of social policy consolidation – from education mandates and health care systems over work-related protections to care services – we also find varying trajectories which challenge conventional regional clustering narratives. Moreover, our analysis highlights two periods which have so far not featured prominently in comparative welfare state research: The interwar years (1919–1929) and the period of decolonization (1949–1969).

Source: Journal of Public Policy

DOI: 10.1017/s0143814x25100676

Authors: Fabian Besche-Truthe, Tobias Böger, Johanna Fischer

Institution: University of Bremen

Language: English

Topic: Social Policy and Reform Studies

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,550

Funders: University of Cambridge, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Universität Bremen