Taking part in uncertainty: The significance of labour market and income protection reforms for social segmentation and citizens’ discontent

Based on a lecture delivered at Utrecht University, J. C. Vrooman analyzes the relationship between institutional change, social stratification, and citizen’s discontent in the Netherlands. Vrooman provides detailed, empirical data on law reform, social inequality, and results from a large scale survey to prove whether class segmentation and citizens’ discontent are related to the changing income and labor insecurity in the Netherlands. Vrooman posits that household economic instability has further exacerbated social segmentation in the Netherlands and has likely fueled discontent among people with few resources and those who fear that their present situation will deteriorate in the future.