Yin suggests that a case study approach is an appropriate research methodology to use when the research objective asks ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.81 ‘How’ and ‘why’ questions often relate to the study of phenomena that are “messy”, emergent, non-sequential and politically sensitive, which are best considered within their natural setting. As a result, case research provides a better explanation of the historical and complex links that govern state welfare systems, notably, in this particular case, Egyptian food subsidies.
