Client organizations in a corporatist country: pensioners' organizations and pension policy in Sweden

Abstract

In this article, the relevance of Paul Pierson's argument about the important role played by organizations for welfare clients is scrutinized. This is done through a case-study of pensioners' organizations in Sweden and their influence on pension policy between 1980 and 2002. In terms of Pierson's argument, Sweden is considered to be a least likely candidate, because its strong labour movement is expected to crowd out other organized interests from the policy process. The investigation reveals, however, that pensioners' organizations have been able to exert influence on pension policy on different occasions. Their influence is explained by their high rating as an organization, which enables them to represent an important group of voters. These findings contradict previous research suggesting that client organizations are weak, particularly in corporatist countries with a strong labour movement, and demonstrate that Pierson's argument also has relevance in such countries.