Regulation as Compensation for a (Declining) Welfare State? Comparing Countries and Regimes

Abstract

In the last decades, the welfare state has frequently witnessed retrenchment, deregulation and privatization. To what extent does regulation compensate for a (declining) welfare state? Does regulation by private actors such as enterprises take up the challenge to provide social goods? Do we see regulation of economic activity to benefit wider social goals rather than pure market efficiency? What is the reach and what are the forms of regulation compensating for a (declining) welfare state? What are the actors that seek social goals (public, private, business, NGOs) and how do they coordinate and cooperate across governance levels to reach social goals? The panel discusses these questions from different theoretical perspectives. We welcome empirical accounts using quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method designs and particularly invite papers comparing regulatory governance across different regime types and countries.