The present paper offers an exploratory case study of employer-centric approaches to welfare state development in interwar Romania. By focusing on ideational debates rather than macro-structural conditions, I argue that, similarly to the well-researched cases of developed countries, employers also played key roles in the historical creation of welfare institutions in late developing countries. Focusing on the nuances of historical contingencies, I show when, why and how Romanian employers acted as consenters, supporters or dissenters of an
emerging welfare state, envisaged by policymakers as a key tool for catch-up development.