Christian democracy in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands

2010 ◽  
pp. 62-96
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Christian Democracy

Religion, Class, and the Postwar Development of the Dutch Welfare State

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennie Oude Nijhuis
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Labor Union ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Christian Democracy ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Welfare Generosity ◽  
Post War ◽  
Distribution Of Income

This book examines how the Netherlands managed to create and maintain one of the world’s most generous and inclusive welfare systems despite having been dominated by Christian-democratic or ŸconservativeŒ, rather than socialist dominated governments, for most of the post-war period. It emphasizes that such systems have strong consequences for the distribution of income and risk among different segments of society and argues that they could consequently only emerge in countries where middle class groups were unable to utilize their key electoral and strong labor market position to mobilize against the adverse consequences of redistribution for them. By illustrating their key role in the coming about of solidaristic welfare reform in the Netherlands, the book also offers a novel view of the roles of Christian-democracy and the labor union movement in the development of modern welfare states. By highlighting how welfare reform contributed to the employment miracle of the 1990s, the book sheds new light on how countries are able to combine high levels of welfare generosity and solidarity with successful macro-economic performance.

scholarly journals The Contingency of Corporatist Influence: Incomes Policy in the Netherlands

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAAP WOLDENDORP ◽  
HANS KEMAN
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Christian Democracy ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
Incomes Policy

This paper examines the hypothesis that corporatist intermediation by party governments facilitates incomes policy formation and is effective in reaching agreements between employers and trade unions as well. A social democratic party in government would positively enhance this process. Investigating this for the Netherlands between 1965–2000, two puzzles emerge. The first puzzle is that coalition governments of Social and Christian Democracy fall short of expectations despite their commitment to corporatism. The second puzzle is that the relationship between Social Democracy and effective corporatist intermediation is positive but cannot sufficiently account for the variation in agreements on Dutch incomes policy. That variation can be better understood as induced by institutional change, economic development and external vulnerabilities. The Dutch case study shows that the performance of a social democratic party in government in a corporatist context is less directly effective than the literature often has suggested.

The Netherlands: A Passive Social Democratic Welfare State in a Christian Democratic Ruled Society

1988 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Van Kersbergen ◽  
Uwe Becker
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Christian Democracy ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
Dutch Experience

ABSTRACTThe Netherlands are of considerable interest to students of comparative social policy, because Christian democracy and not social democracy is the leading political force. This article analyses the history of the Dutch system of social security in terms of political forces and their power resources. In particular, it considers the reasons for the comparatively high level of social security development in the Netherlands. The various approaches which have been adopted in much current research in comparative social policy are critically discussed in the context of the Dutch experience.

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