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This dissertation explores the development and consequences of an approach to welfare provision characterized by household reliance on financial markets for managing risks, an approach I term household capitalization. Using a comparative case study of the Netherlands and Germany, I identify the factors that facilitated or hindered the integration of households into financial markets in light of welfare retrenchment. I argue that pension institutions provided the necessary structural and sociological foundations and aligned the interests of relevant actors for a path toward household capitalization. Through analyses of microdata collected from existing election studies and a novel survey instrument, I assess the consequences of this regime on political behavior and preferences. While financial engagement appears to reduce support for public provision in the abstract, I find limited evidence of a wholesale turn away from the state. Finally, using cross-sectional data, I evaluate the dynamic relationship between capitalized alternatives and welfare generosity. The results indicate that high levels of capitalization can reduce welfare generosity in some cases, whereas high levels are associated with increased generosity in others. The results of this dissertation demonstrate that, despite encouraging household participation in markets through financialized asset accumulation and debt, the state will continue to play a leading role in addressing social risks for the foreseeable future. |
