Under Pressure? The Labour Market Policy of the Grand Coalition 2018–2021

Abstract

This article examines the labour market policy of the Grand Coalition from 2018 to 2021, comparing the explanatory power of partisan theory with the functionalist theory in the analysis of labour market policies. In addition, the article differentiates between the policies before and after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. It does this in order to trace the change in the theories’ explanatory power under crisis conditions. The analysis of labour market-related problem pressure indicators and a qualitative content analysis of plenary minutes show that anticipated problem pressure is relevant in explaining labour market policies, underlining the importance of political actors. Furthermore, partisan differences seem to diminish under crisis conditions.

Acknowledgements

I thank Prof Reimut Zohlnhöfer and Dr Fabian Engler for their valuable comments on my paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The data is only available until 2019, so no comparison with the time during the pandemic is possible.

2 Although the social protection packages I, II, III do not only include labour market policies, they have a strong focus on them in quantitative and qualitative terms. This is why they are used for the analysis. Only the statements on labour market policies are analysed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Linda Voigt

Dr Linda Voigt is a post-doctoral researcher and assistant lecturer at the Institute of Political Science at Heidelberg University in Germany. Her research interests include public policy analysis, political psychology as well as German politics.