Can social policies change what conservative governments do?
Can progressive social policies survive changes in government? New research by Manuel Alvariño shows how policies supporting working parents can reduce political differences between left and right. Initially introduced by the left, they generate electoral and economic returns that attract reticent conservatives.
Why do conservative governments sometimes preserve or even expand social policies originally introduced by the left?
A new study by CBS researcher Manuel Alvariño examines this question through social investment policies, particularly childcare, parental leave and measures supporting women's employment. The findings show that right-wing governments are more likely to introduce policies supporting traditional family arrangements in conservative welfare contexts. However, as reforms supporting working parents accumulate, political differences between left and right weaken and eventually disappear.
Why does this matter?
Social protection policies, such as pensions, are known to resist retrenchment because beneficiaries depend on their continued provision and mobilise to defend them. Social investment policies are generally considered more vulnerable, as beneficiaries may have fewer incentives to defend them once they have improved their labour market opportunities through education or work-family policies. The article challenges this view, arguing that work-family policies can also survive changes in government, but for different reasons: by fostering more progressive public attitudes towards gender roles and attracting support from employers and policymakers interested in the economic benefits of women's employment.
How is this measured?
The study draws on an original database of 655 family policy changes across six European welfare states (Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) between 1980 and 2019. Each reform is classified according to whether it supports working mothers (dual-earner families) or reinforces traditional family arrangements (male-breadwinner families). By tracking how these reforms accumulate over time, the study measures how previous policy decisions shape the direction of future reforms. Statistical models then examine whether the differences between left- and right-wing governments change as policies supporting working parents become more established.
Overall, the research contributes to understanding how welfare states evolve and how progressive social policies may survive changes in government, even amid growing political opposition to gender equality.
Publication:
Alvariño, M. (2026). Social investment feedback effects in welfare politics: Evidence from work-family policy reforms. Journal of European Social Policy.
The article has received the 2026 JESP/ESPAnet Doctoral Researcher Prize.