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Bericht / Forschungsbericht / Abhandlung zugänglich unter
URL: https://epub.sub.uni-hamburg.de/epub/volltexte/2008/1916/
Building a socialdemocratic strategy in southern Europe: Economic policy under the González government (1982 - 93)
Boix, Carles
| Originalveröffentlichung: |
| (1995) http://www.march.es/ceacs/publicaciones/working/archivos/1995_69.pdf |
| pdf-Format:
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| BK - Klassifikation: |
| 83.30 , 89.14 |
| Sondersammelgebiete: |
| 7.34 Spanien, Portugal |
| DDC-Sachgruppe: |
| Wirtschaft |
| Dokumentart: |
| Bericht / Forschungsbericht / Abhandlung |
| Schriftenreihe: |
| Estudios // Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias Sociales, Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones |
| Bandnummer: |
| 69 |
| Sprache: |
| Englisch |
| Erstellungsjahr: |
| 1995 |
| Publikationsdatum: |
| 02.11.2008 |
| Kurzfassung auf Englisch: |
| By examining the overall economic and electoral strategy developed by the
Spanish socialist government from 1982 to 1993, this paper evaluates the
possibilities and limits of socialdemocratic policies in Southern European countries
in particular, and in non-coordinated market economies after the stagflation crisis
in general.
The paper reveals, in the first place, that although the González
government dismissed countercyclical demand management policies in favor of
rather rigorous disinflationary goals, it still chose to develop a long-term strategy
to shape the stock of Spanish physical and human capital and hence to increase
the economy's productivity and competitiveness, based on massive public spending
in infrastructures, education and vocational training,
The paper uncovers, in the second place, two fundamental barriers to the
PSOE's economic strategy. On the one hand, it shows how the organization of the
Spanish economy -characterized by semi-centralized labor markets and collective
bargaining processes- made the government's disinflationary strategy rather costly
to achieve. On the other hand, it reveals how strong social demands in favor of
increasing public transfers compromised, from the late eighties on, the intense
public capital formation strategy outlined by the González cabinet.
The paper examines, finally, the impact of the socialist government's
policies on the PSOE's supporting electoral coalition. Although the Spanish
socialist party was able to keep the traditional support of blue-collar workers (in
both the manufacturing and the agricultural sectors), the expansion of the welfare
state and the active role of the state in public capital formation policies
strengthened its support in the most underdeveloped areas, among the less
favored sectors (such as those with low levels of education) and among the most
dependent on public transfers (the unemployed and the retired). On the contrary,
the PSOE lost votes among centrist voters and white-collar salaried segments, and
in urban areas.
The paper concludes by assessing to what extent it is possible to develop
and perpetuate the socialist political and economic project and its supporting
electoral coalition in Spain. |
