The absence of a minimum income scheme (Mis) has been considered one of the main characteristic of the welfare states belonging to the so called Southern European Model. In the last twenty years however countries belonging to this cluster have witnessed ambivalent changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain a national scheme was never established but regions have introduced Mis that currently cover the whole national territory despite significant variations in organization, funding, benefit level and programme design. In Italy, innovative programs at the regional level were introduced only in some regions, and often were subsequently displaced.
In order to explain such a differentiated trajectory, this study builds on the literature of welfare state change considering the specific interrelation between functional pressures, power resources and institutional characteristics, but focuses particularly on the dynamics of political competition and party system configuration.
