Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in Western societies. Gosta Esping-Andersen, one of the foremost contributors to current debates on this issue, here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced Western societies. Esping-Andersen distinguishes three major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different Western countries. He argues that current economic processes, such as those moving toward a postindustrial order, are shaped not by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences. Fully informed by comparative materials, this book will have great appeal to all those working on issues of economic development and postindustrialism. Its audience will include students of sociology, economics, and politics."

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have demonstrated that income inequality is related to mortality rates. It was hypothesized, in this study, that income inequality is related to reduction in social cohesion and that disinvestment in social capital is in turn associated with increased mortality. METHODS: In this cross-sectional ecologic study based on data from 39 states, social capital was measured by weighted responses to two items from the General Social Survey: per capita density of membership in voluntary groups in each state and level of social trust, as gauged by the proportion of residents in each state who believed that people could be trusted. Age-standardized total and cause-specific mortality rates in 1990 were obtained for each state. RESULTS: Income inequality was strongly correlated with both per capita group membership (r = -.46) and lack of social trust (r = .76). In turn, both social trust and group membership were associated with total mortality, as well as rates of death from coronary heart d...

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.87.9.1491

Social capital, income inequality, and mortality.

This essay seeks to lay the foundation for an understanding of welfare state retrenchment. Previous discussions have generally relied, at least implicitly, on a reflexive application of theories designed to explain welfare state expansion. Such an approach is seriously flawed. Not only is the goal of retrenchment (avoiding blame for cutting existing programs) far different from the goal of expansion (claiming credit for new social benefits), but the welfare state itself vastly alters the terrain on which the politics of social policy is fought out. Only an appreciation of how mature social programs create a new politics can allow us to make sense of the welfare state's remarkable resilience over the past two decades of austerity. Theoretical argument is combined with quantitative and qualitative data from four cases (Britain, the United States, Germany, and Sweden) to demonstrate the shortcomings of conventional wisdom and to highlight the factors that limit or facilitate retrenchment success.

http://pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il/~mshalev/sem/Pierson_NewPolitics(1996).pdf

The New Politics of the Welfare State

Symposium Review: 25th Anniversary of Moral Boundaries by Joan Tronto

the structure of welfare state institutions. (2) A trade-off exists between the degree of low-income targeting and the size of redistributive budgets. (3) Outcomes of market-based distribution are often more unequal than those of earnings-related social insurance programs. We argue that social insurance institutions are of central importance for redistributive outcomes. Using new data, our comparative analyses of the effects of different institutional types of welfare states on poverty and inequality indicate that institutional differences lead to unexpected outcomes and generate the paradox of redistribution: The more we target benefits at the poor and the more concerned we are with creating equality via equal public transfers to all, the less likely we are to reduce poverty and inequality. Social scientists and social reformers have long debated how the welfare state and social policies should be designed so as to best reduce poverty and inequality. This debate involves two different issues. One question concerns whether social policies should be targeted or universal, that is, should they be organized for the poor only or should the welfare state include all citizens? In the context of nontargeted programs, another question concerns the level of benefits: Should benefits be equal for all, or should they be related to previous earnings and in

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/160846/1/lis-wps-174.pdf

The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality: Welfare State Institutions, Inequality and Poverty in the Western Countries

There is an important current policy debate about the social role of major sporting events and their availability on television in the UK. This paper draws attention to a key argument that has not been made in the debate so far. This is that sporting events and championships are natural monopolies. That is, it is not possible for new firms’ to enter the industry and supply an identical ‘product’, such as a duplicate FA (Football Association) Cup competition. In consequence, broadcasters who gain rights to these events are monopoly suppliers to their viewers. Now monopolies in general restrict supply and raise prices to levels which exploit consumers and are not socially efficient. In the case of broadcasting in the UK, the emergence of satellite television has provoked a price war for the right to monopolise sporting rights, with monopoly pricing passed off to the consumer via subscription charges. To rectify this, this paper recommends a new regulatory agency that would control the pricing activ...

Monopoly in sports broadcasting

Public service mutuals are a form of employee-led organization in which service workers spin out of the public sector to form “mutuals” that contract back with government to provide a service. This article draws on economic and psychological theory to demonstrate that mutuals can align both self-interested and altruistic or public service motivations so as to serve the social good; moreover, by offering greater autonomy to public service professionals, mutuals are predicted to encourage energetic and persistent behaviors. In both cases, there is an advantage over alternative forms of organization such as the public sector bureaucracy, the shareholder-owned private firm, or the nonprofit organization. The employee-led mutual form, however, may not appeal to risk-averse workers, its collective decision-making systems may be inefficient, and external mechanisms may be required to ensure that organizational outcomes are always directed toward the social good.

/pdf/the-public-service-mutual-theories-of-motivational-advantage-hn5b9ohbbc.pdf

The public service mutual: theories of motivational advantage

The government’s changes to the NHS in England come into force on 1 April. David Hunter argues that they will result in creeping privatisation and destroy the public service ethos but Julian Le Grand (doi:10.1136/bmj.f1951) thinks that more competition will improve the quality of care

Will 1 April mark the beginning of the end of England’s NHS? No

Introduction ~ John Hills, Julian Le Grand and David Piachaud Part One: The aims of social policy: Principles, Poor Laws and welfare states ~ Jose Harris Welfare: what for? ~ Tania Burchardt Part Two: Delivering social policy: Families, individuals and the state ~ Jane Lewis Schools, financing and educational standards ~ Anne West Financing higher education: tax, graduate tax or loans? ~ Nicholas Barr Quasi-markets in healthcare ~ Julian Le Grand Social care: choice and control ~ Martin Knapp Neighbourhood renewal, mixed communities and social integration ~ Anne Power Part Three: Redistribution: between households over time between areas: The restructuring of redistribution ~ David Piachaud Pensions, public opinion and policy ~ John Hills Distributing resources ~ Tony Travers

Making social policy work : essays in honour of Howard Glennerster

This article examines collaborations between primary care trusts in the commissioning of secondary care services in England. It applies principal-agent theory qualitatively to two case studies. The theory suggests that collaboration should take place if organizations share relevant information and agree joint objectives. The study findings show that sharing information is not a major problem for these case studies, but that agreeing joint objectives is.

Julian Le Grand

Papers

Monopoly in sports broadcasting

The public service mutual: theories of motivational advantage

Will 1 April mark the beginning of the end of England’s NHS? No

Making social policy work : essays in honour of Howard Glennerster

Collaborative Commissioning of Secondary Care Services by Primary Care Trusts