CES: Visiting Scholars Seminar: Party Competition and the Politics of Broken Welfare Promises

Abstract: The welfare state is among the most fought-over topics in national elections in Western democracies. Pledges on what parties will do if elected are a regular part of most campaigns. Some parties promise to expand the welfare state, others to retrench it or leave it as it is. We develop a novel argument that explains when governments do not do what they promised and test it using an innovative research design with data covering four decades and 18 countries.