Citation

Collier CN. Can. J. Polit. Sci. 2008; 41(1): 19-42.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S0008423908080025

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the impact of neoliberalism on provincial policies aimed at addressing the problem of violence against women during a period (1985-2005) when welfare state retrenchment convergence has been documented both provincially and in a variety of Western democracies, including in Canada. Using measurements of both aggregate government expenditures and qualitative evaluations of anti-violence policy progression during this time frame, my analysis questions the existence of welfare state convergence in both Ontario and British Columbia. Instead, it demonstrates evidence of pronounced anti-violence policy divergence in both cases, which is better explained by a partisan theory of public policy framework.