Deborah Mabbett
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Overview
Overview
Biography
My academic training is in economics, but I have worked on public and social policy for most of my professional career. In the 1980s and 1990s, I worked mainly on comparative social policy and held research grants from the (then) UK Department of Social Security and the European Commission. I also worked as a consultant for the World Bank in Moldova and Lithuania. Subsequently, much of my research has been on the EU, including the effects of the single market on social insurance, the impact of anti-discrimination law and the political economy of the euro area. I have also written on pensions policy from a comparative perspective, and in 2018-19 I served on the Joint Expert Panel established to review the valuation of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Currently my main interests are in technical and expert policy-making, including research into minimum wage commissions, central banks and the role of science in public policy.
Visiting posts
- Visiting Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, 09-2023 to 09-2024
ORCID
0000-0001-7068-0812 -
Research
Research
Research overview
The public is often told that 'there is no alternative' to the adoption of specific economic policies. In the contest for economic resources, partisan political debate is limited to a narrow range of redistributive taxation and spending policies, while many policies with profound effects on economic well-being are made by central bankers, regulators, judges and other experts. In my research, I try to illuminate how decisions affecting economic welfare are assigned between politically-contested and uncontested arenas, and how each arena works in constructing policy alternatives, seeking consensus, and responding to 'irritants' that disrupt prevailing policy settlements. Comparative studies can be revealing about how policy choices are constrained in specific national settings. For example, market-regulatory policies are often more politically contested in the United States than in Europe, while policy-making in the European Union has thrived on non-partisan regulatory methods. Through my research, which is primarily based on case studies of important policy areas, I aim to challenge the view that markets are not 'political' and to show the potential of taking a view of public policy which is not limited to what can be done within the constrained budgetary resources of governments.
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Mabbett, Deborah (2023) London’s ULEZ: where next for curbing emissions?. The Political Quarterly 94 (3), pp. 481-486. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2023) In the shadow of hierarchy: minimum wage commissions in the UK and Germany. Socio-Economic Review ISSN 1475-1461.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2022) Whatever it takes? Die EZB jenseits von Populismus und Popularität. Mittelweg 36 2022 (1), ISSN 0941-6382.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2021) Reckless prudence: Financialization in UK pension scheme governance after the crisis. Review of International Political Economy 28 (4), pp. 926-946. ISSN 0969-2290.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2019) Independent or lonely? Central banking in crisis. Review of International Political Economy 26 (3), pp. 436-460. ISSN 0969-2290.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2016) The minimum wage in Germany: what brought the state in?. Journal of European Public Policy 23 (8), pp. 1240-1258. ISSN 1350-1763.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2014) Polanyi in Brussels or Luxembourg? Social rights and market regulation in European insurance. Regulation & Governance 8 (2), pp. 186-202. ISSN 1748-5983.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2014) What difference does Euro membership make to stabilization? The political economy of international monetary systems revisited. Review of International Political Economy 22 (3), pp. 508-534. ISSN 0969-2290.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2012) The ghost in the machine: pension risks and regulatory responses in the United States and the United Kingdom. Politics & Society 40 (1), pp. 104-126. ISSN 0032-3292.
- Hodson, Dermot and Mabbett, Deborah (2009) UK economic policy and the global financial crisis: paradigm lost?. Journal of Common Market Studies 47 (5), pp. 1041-1061. ISSN 0021-9886.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2009) Supplementary pensions between social policy and social regulation. West European Politics 32 (4), pp. 774-791. ISSN 0140-2382.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2009) The politics of conflict management in EU regulation. West European Politics 32 (4), pp. 699-718. ISSN 0140-2382.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2009) Telling tales from abroad: Australia, the Netherlands and the welfare-to-work proposals in the UK. Benefits 17 (2), pp. 137-147. ISSN 0962-7898.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2008) Aspirational legalism and the role of the equality and human rights commission in equality policy. The Political Quarterly 79 (1), pp. 45-52. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2007) Bringing macroeconomics back into the political economy of reform: The Lisbon Agenda and the 'fiscal philosophy' of EMU. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 45 (1), pp. 81-103. ISSN 0021-9886.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2007) Learning by numbers? the use of indicators in the co-ordination of social inclusion policies in Europe. Journal of European Public Policy 14 (1), pp. 78-95. ISSN 1350-1763.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2005) Some are more equal than others: definitions of disability in social policy and discrimination law in Europe. Journal of Social Policy 34 (2), pp. 215-233. ISSN 0047-2794.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2005) The development of rights-based social policy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies 43 (1), pp. 97-120. ISSN 0021-9886.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2003) Why have disability categories in social security?. Benefits 11 (3), pp. 163-168. ISSN 0962-7898.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2000) Social regulation and the social dimension in Europe: the example of insurance. European Journal of Social Security 2 (3), ISSN 1388-2627.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Bolderson, H. (1999) Devolved social security systems: principal-agent versus multi-level governance. Journal of Public Policy 18 (2), pp. 177-200. ISSN 0143-814X.
- Mabbett, Deborah (1997) Reforming social security in economies in transition: problems and policies in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova. International Social Security Review 50 (1), pp. 57-74. ISSN 1468-246X.
- Bolderson, H. and Mabbett, Deborah (1996) Cost containment in complex social security systems: the limitations of targeting. International Social Security Review 49 (1), pp. 3-17. ISSN 1468-246X.
- Bolderson, H. and Mabbett, Deborah (1995) Mongrels or thoroughbreds: a cross-national look at social security systems. European Journal of Political Research 28 (1), pp. 119-139. ISSN 0304-4130.
Book
- Mabbett, Deborah (1995) Trade, employment and welfare: a comparative study of trade and labour market policies in Sweden and New Zealand, 1880-1980. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
Book Section
- Mabbett, Deborah (2020) Expertise in pension trusteeship. In: Agnew, S. and Davies, P. and Mitchell, Charles (eds.) Pensions: Law, Policy and Practice. Oxford, UK: Hart. ISBN 9781509922703. (In Press)
- Mabbett, Deborah (2016) Governing in times of austerity. In: Heffernan, R. and Hay, C. and Russell, M. and Cowley, P. (eds.) Developments in British Politics. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 203-220. ISBN 9781137494740.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Schelkle, W. (2016) Searching under the lamp-post: the evolution of fiscal surveillance. In: Caporaso, J. and Rhodes, M. (eds.) Political and Economic Dynamics of the Eurozone Crisis. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755739.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2011) The regulatory politics of private pensions in the UK and Germany. In: Leisering, L. (ed.) The New Regulatory State: Regulating Pensions in Germany and the UK. Transformations of the State. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 191-210. ISBN 9780230272057.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2010) Age discrimination in law and policy: how the equal treatment directive affects national welfare states. In: Ross, M. and Borgmann Prebil, Y. (eds.) Promoting Solidarity in the European Union. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 198-215. ISBN 9780199583188.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2005) How is policy made?. In: Prokovnik, R. (ed.) Making Policy, Shaping Lives. Understanding Contemporary Politics. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748619740.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2004) Commentary on transforming disability into ability. In: Marin, B. and Prinz, C. and Queisser, M. (eds.) Transforming Disability Welfare Policies: Towards Work and Equal Opportunities. Vienna, Austria: European Centre for Social Welfare Research and Policy. ISBN 9780754642844.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Bolderson, H. (2002) Non-discrimination, free movement and social citizenship in Europe: contrasting provisions for EU nationals and asylum seekers. In: Behrendt, C. (ed.) Social Security in the Global Village. International Social Security Series. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9780765809308.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2001) Mutuality in insurance and social security: retrospect and prospect. In: Birchall, J. (ed.) The New Mutualism in Public Policy. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138994430.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Bolderson, H. (2001) Non-discriminating social policy? policy scenarios for meeting needs without categorisation. In: Clasen, J. (ed.) What Future for Social Security?: Debates and Reforms in National and Cross-national Perspective. Studies in Employment and Social Policy. The Hague: Kluwer. ISBN 9789041116710.
- Mabbett, Deborah and Bolderson, H. (1998) Theories and methods in comparative social policy. In: Clasen, J. (ed.) Comparative Social Policy: Concepts, Theories and Methods. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN 9780631207740.
Editorial
- Mabbett, Deborah (2024) Lessons from the COVID-19 Inquiry for the Civil Service. The Political Quarterly 95 (1), Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2023) Raising the pension age. The Political Quarterly 94 (2), pp. 163-165. Wiley Blackwell. ISSN 1467-923X.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2022) A hapless government produces an unlikely hero. The Political Quarterly 93 (4), pp. 561-563. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Killick, Anna and Mabbett, Deborah (2022) The everyday economy: introduction. The Political Quarterly 93 (4), pp. 637-639. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2022) The Bank of England loses its mojo. The Political Quarterly 93 (2), pp. 187-189. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2021) The Conservatives’ economic strategy. The Political Quarterly 92 (4), pp. 591-593. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Killick, Anna and Mabbett, Deborah (2021) The politics of power and of support: Introduction to an Andrew Gamble inspired special section on the Conservative Party. The Political Quarterly 92 (3), pp. 393-395. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2021) Rolling out the pork barrel. The Political Quarterly 92 (2), pp. 169-171. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2020) Testing the limits of elective dictatorship. The Political Quarterly 91 (4), pp. 701-704. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2020) Equity and fairness in a pandemic. The Political Quarterly 91 (2), pp. 271-274. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2018) Good governance for prosperity and justice. The Political Quarterly 89 (4), pp. 531-533. Wiley. ISSN 1467-923X.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2014) Representative and responsible immigration policy: Comment on the collection: the politics of immigration: UKIP and beyond. The Political Quarterly 85 (3), pp. 351-353. Wiley. ISSN 0032-3179.
Monograph
- Horvath, Laszlo and Mabbett, Deborah (2024) Project report: Exploring citizens' responses to science in public policy through natural language processing and conjoint experiments. London, UK: The British Academy.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2011) A rights revolution in Europe? regulatory and judicial approaches to nondiscrimination in insurance. Regulation and Governance London, UK: London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2010) The regulatory rescue of the Welfare State. Jerusalem, Israel: Jerusalem Papers in Regulation & Governance.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2004) Fiscal stabilisers in Europe: the macroeconomic impact of tax and benefit systems. University of Essex, Colchester, UK: Institute for Social and Economic Research.
- Mabbett, Deborah (2002) Definitions of disability in Europe: a comparative analysis. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.
- Mabbett, Deborah (1999) Risk and security in the private provision of old age pensions: a review of the government's stakeholder pension proposals.
- Bolderson, Helen and Mabbett, Deborah (1997) Social policy and social security in Australia, Britain and the USA (1991) and delivering social security: a cross-national study. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
Other
- Horvath, Laszlo and Mabbett, Deborah (2023) Can scientific expertise sway public opinion on clean air zones?. LSE British Politics and Policy London School of Economics.