A fuzzy set ideal-type approach to measuring the competition state

Contemporary empirical explorations of the welfare state have paid much attention to its multidimensional nature, noting that nations blend differing approaches to the various dimensions of the welfare state. Sometimes such behaviours can even be contradictory with behaviour in one policy arena perhaps being typically liberal in contrast to the corporatist roots of other behaviours. In much the same way those who argue that the welfare state has changed so substantially as to warrant redefining offer nuanced and multidimensional accounts of what has replaced the welfare state. In this paper we see how nations engage with the competition state as the successor to the welfare state and are presented with data that suggests countries, while engaging with the competition state model, are doing so in their own ways.