The Political Dynamics of Welfare Markets: The Emergence of Consumer Organisations in the Field of Social Policy

This chapter analyses the dynamics of welfare markets in Germany by focusing on the political consequences of the establishment of the new consumer role. It is shown that the introduction of market mechanisms leads to an increasing role of consumer organisations in social policy debates. The chapter builds on evidence gathered from the agendas of the committee for labour and social affairs, and the committee for health, of the Federal Parliament in the years 1990–2017. It addresses the question if consumer organisations were more often invited to public hearings during or after the introduction of welfare markets compared to earlier periods. The hypothesis is that the role of consumer organisations differs from field to field, reflecting the specific dynamics of these markets.