From the Margins to the Center: A Bottom-Up Approach to Welfare State Scholarship

2020/11/10 by Jamila Michener, Mallory SoRelle, Mallory E. SoRelle +2 · 114 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Economics #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Law #Law and economics #Political and Economic history of UK and US #Political economy #Political science #Politics #Positive economics #Scholarship #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Sociology #State (computer science) #Welfare #Welfare state

paper · doi:10.1017/s153759272000359x

published in Perspectives on Politics 20(1), 154-169 (Cambridge University Press)

openalex publication_date 2020/11/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21

Abstract

In this article we reassess conceptions of the welfare state with an eye towards the limits of current scholarly approaches. In particular, we propose centering the study of the welfare state around those who occupy the margins of American society. We argue that concentrating on populations at the proverbial “bottom” of standard economic and political hierarchies productively reorients research on social policy and politics by bringing crucial but often overlooked facets of the welfare state into sharper view. Specifically, the bottom-up approach we offer here entreats political scientists to re-consider where they look in their efforts to delineate the welfare state, how to examine what they find, and what kinds of questions to ask in the process. Ultimately, studying the welfare state from the bottom up suggests a host of new directions for scholars seeking to understand its politics.

Citations

• A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Policy Demands and Nominations in American Politics
• The Consequences of Public Policy for Democratic Citizenship: Bridging Policy Studies and Mass Politics

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• The Welfare State: A Fundamental Dimension of Modern Government
• The Welfare State: The Challenges of Sustainability
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• The Welfare State: Ethical Foundations and Constitutional Remedies
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