Party Systems and Leftist Governments’ Economic Policies
Party Systems and Leftist Governments’ Economic Policies
Chapter 3 accounts for the different factors behind variation in leftist governments’ economic policies. First, it advances an explanation of how the type of leftist economic reforms is best explained by the degree to which the party system is institutionalized. In doing so, this chapter develops the causal logic behind the relationship between party system institutionalization and economic policy changes. It then offers a macro-level test of the logic and alternative explanations drawing on empirical evidence. Chapter 3 finds that centripetal dynamics characteristic of institutionalized party systems make the preservation of the status quo more likely. This is due to differences in the type of candidate likely to reach power and parties’ ability to influence the executive’s policies. This finding refines institutionalist explanations based on fragmentation and polarization and challenges accounts based on resource dependence, economic conditions, interest groups, executive power, and depth of neoliberalism.
Keywords: party systems, institutionalization, centripetal dynamics, fragmentation, polarization, resource dependence, economic conditions, interest groups, executive power, depth of neoliberalism
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