Welfare Policy Expansion in Botswana and Mauritius

Abstract

How come two developing countries with similar economic, institutional, and democratic attributes have developed vastly different welfare regimes? Drawing inspiration from the welfare regime literature, the author subjects Botswana and Mauritius to a comparative historical analysis that explores the economic and political trajectories of their welfare policy development. The findings offer both support and modifications to the established and mostly Western-oriented literature. First, politics affect welfare policy development. In developing countries, the rural population can promote welfare policy expansion, but it is middle-class interests that shape the direction of policy development. Second, given the importance of politics, conceptualizations of welfare policies need to include both the spending and the financing side. Finally, the causes of different welfare regime paths need to be examined with attention to the particular economic contexts of developing countries and how welfare and economic policies are interrelated and to some extent path dependent.