Showing papers in "Journal of European Social Policy in 1997"
TL;DR: The authors compared 14 OECD countries, as of the middle-to-late 1980s, with respect to their provision of policies that support moth ers' employment: parental leave, child care, and the scheduling of public education.
Abstract: This article compares 14 OECD countries, as of the middle-to-late 1980s, with respect to their provision of policies that support moth ers' employment: parental leave, child care, and the scheduling of public education. Newly gathered data on 18 policy indicators are pre sented. The indicators are then standardized, weighted, and summed into indices. By differ entiating policies that affect maternal employ ment from family policies more generally, these indices reveal dramatic cross-national differences in policy provisions.The empirical results reveal loose clusters of countries that correspond only partially to prevailing welfare-state typologies. For mothers with preschool-aged children, only five of the 14 countries provided reasonably complete and continuous benefits that sup ported their options for combining paid work with family responsibilities. The pattern of cross-national policy variation changed no tably when policies affecting mothers with older children were examined.The indices provide an ...
599 citations
TL;DR: In the contemporary welfare state literature, both Japan and Southern Europe are often held to be distinct regimes, and a comparative examination of the evidence for Japan suggests that this is not the case.
Abstract: In the contemporary welfare state literature, both Japan and Southern Europe are often held to be distinct regimes. A comparative examination of the evidence for Japan suggests that this is not tru...
306 citations
TL;DR: The first comparative study of social assistance across all 24 countries of the OECD is presented in this paper, which includes all means-tested benefits in cash and kind, including those which provide benefits to higher income groups.
Abstract: This article presents selected results from the first comparative study of social assistance across all 24 countries of the OECD. The scope of social assistance, discussed in the first section, is drawn to include all means-tested benefits in cash and kind, including those which provide benefits to higher income groups. The second section then presents in formation on the main programmes in each country, expenditures and groups of beneficia ries, trends over time, administrative struc tures, and operation of means tests. It concludes by developing a new measure of assistance benefit levels with which to evaluate different countries' systems. The third section distils from the country differences eight pat terns, or 'assistance regimes', varying from the limited, discretionary, decentralized models of Switzerland and Norway to the extensive, national, rights-based programmes of the English-speaking world; and from the relative generosity of Scandinavia and Australia to the low, marginalizing benefits of th...
302 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the substance of reform in European welfare states over the course of the last 10 years is examined and it is shown that pensions, unemployment benefits, parental leave and payments for the care of ill, elderly and incapacitated people have been the main focus of policy activity.
Abstract: This article devotes itself to an examination of the substance of reform in European welfare states over the course of the last 10 years. Its objective is mainly empirical, to compare how cash transfers in the 15 member states of the European Union as well as Norway have fared over the decade. While the article is not theory-focused, consideration of some of the wider implications of the change process which is underway is a priority. It is especially important to examine not only how the pro cedures and principles governing benefits have altered but whether and how change is sys tematically patterned across welfare states. We shall observe that pensions, unemployment benefits, parental leave and payments for the care of ill, elderly and incapacitated people have been the main focus of policy activity. As a story of both cut-backs and expansion sug gests, simplistic notions of convergence or di vergence are not adequate to capture what is happening. The last part of the article consid ers how we might mak...
66 citations
TL;DR: A recent study of welfare states has focused on the development of typologies and theories explaining the development and evolution of the welfare state as mentioned in this paper, which is not the case in this paper.
Abstract: Much recent study of welfare states has fo cused on (1) the development of typologies and (2) theories explaining the development of welfare states.
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the uneven impact of systems of employment insurance on men and women's independent access to unemployment benefits across the European Union is considered, despite the acceptance of the principle of equal opportunity and the active promotion of flexi-ble labour markets with heterogeneous jobs and heterogeneous workers.
Abstract: Unemployment benefit systems fail to take into account the increasing heterogeneity of both employment and unemployment. For many of the member states of the European Union, recent policies to reduce public expen ditures have fallen back on conventional no tions of work and participation, regardless of the expansion in the proportion of non-con ventional employment, such as the greater shares of part-time and temporary work, and the increasing participation of women. This means that governments are providing weaker protection against the costs of unemployment for those groups, particularly women and young people, who do not fit the full-time continuous labour market participant model, despite the acceptance of the principle of equal opportunity and the active promotion of flexi ble labour markets with heterogeneous jobs and heterogeneous workers. In this article, we consider the uneven impact of systems of un employment insurance on men's and women's independent access to unemployment benefits across the ...
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized the pattern of EU pension pro vision, as it currently exists, highlighting recent and possible future developments and the reasons for these, and described and evaluated the two notions of pensions equality.
Abstract: At least two notions of sexual equality are ap plicable to E U pension schemes. This article summarizes the pattern of E U pension pro vision, as it currently exists, highlighting recent and possible future developments and the reasons for these. It then describes and evaluates the two notions of pensions equality. One, the equal treatment approach, is derived from EC equality law; the other, compensa tory approach, originates from within E U pen sion schemes themselves. The equal treatment approach is shown to have serious limitations, not least its restriction to paid workers and its propensity to result in 'levelling-down'. However, it has clearly been influential in se curing abolition of pension rules discrimi nating against married women. The compensatory approach is reflected in three types of benefit rules which break the link be tween pension entitlement and full-time, con tinuous, higher-paid work shown to be a feature of many EU schemes. The advantage of this approach is its potential for maxim...
23 citations
TL;DR: In the late 19th and early 20th century, indus trialized countries introduced a variety of pen sion schemes to sustain elderly people as mentioned in this paper, and these initial schemes may broadly be classified as 'contributory' or 'assistance-based'.
Abstract: In the late 19th and early 20th century, indus trialized countries introduced a variety of pen sion schemes to sustain elderly people. These initial schemes may broadly be classified as 'contributory' or 'assistance-based'. However, over time, there has been a convergence to wards dual mandatory systems where the ma jority receive contribution- based pensions, while the poor depend on tax-financed in come-tested assistance schemes. Within this general convergence, however, New Zealand, and to a lesser extent Denmark, represent de viant cases. This article seeks to explain both the common pattern and the deviant cases, and asks whether this difference is likely to persist.
21 citations
TL;DR: The article evaluates the implementation process of the reform law as regards the coverage criteria and span, the financial sources and the services provided and concludes that the health-care system in Spain has been transformed into a national health service, although some minor characteristics of the previous model persist.
Abstract: Summary All Southern European countries have enacted reform laws during the last decade with the intention of turning their traditional socialsecurity health-care systems into national health services. Spain was no exception to this reform thrust and the General Health Law of 1986 brought about a significant institutional change. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it assesses the decision-making process that led to the approval of the 1986 reform law by contemplating the roles played by the main social and political actors. Moreover, the influence of policy legacies and the impact of regime change are considered. Second, the article evaluates the implementation process of the reform law as regards the coverage criteria and span, the financial sources and the services provided. The analysis of these indicators leads to the conclusion that the health-care system in Spain has been transformed into a national health service, although some minor characteristics of the previous model persist.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the dynamic effects that the labour market has on poverty and social exclusion and show how the analysis of labour markets can help our understanding of social exclusion.
Abstract: This article considers the dynamic effects that the labour market has on poverty and social exclusion.1 It shows how the analysis of labour markets can help our understanding of social exclusion an...
15 citations
TL;DR: The creation of a civil society was a common rallying cry in the 1980s in the struggles against the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, uniting opponents of the regimes from many perspectives as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The creation of a 'civil society' was a common rallying cry in the 1980s in the struggles against the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, uniting opponents of the regimes from many perspectives. The achievement of this civil society in the transitional nations of contemporary Eastern Europe has, however, become more problematic. On the one hand, it is clear that the phrase is ambiguous and with multiple meaning for multiple constituencies. On the other hand, there is concern that it is being used as shorthand for the 'marketiz ation' of these societies by Western govern ments and aid agencies.
TL;DR: The authors assesses the core philosophies and approaches within both systems and examines the prospects for "plugging the gap" in training between Britain and Germany, focusing on the role of tradunions and collective bargaining as a vehicle for change.
Abstract: Interest has arisen in the contribution of vocational
education and training (VET) to national competitiveness as part of more general debates on ’national economic models’. In particular the ’dual system’ of the German
‘model’ has been put forward as a more competitive example than the deregulated and market-based system in Britain. Over the last decade and a half, training has been considerably overhauled in Britain with the aim of raising
both the quantity and quality of provision. A range of new initiatives has been introduced without altering the market-driven and voluntarist approach. More recently, policy documents have emerged in Britain from both
government and opposition on the question of education and training, while in Germany the Kohl regime has launched a ’50-point programme’ with the intention of labour-market
deregulation and cutting non-wage costs. Yet evidence suggests that while the German system itself is now under strain as a result of increasing unemployment and employer-driven moves towards more flexible labour practices, it nevertheless remains superior in terms of its output and contribution to the country’s skills base. This article assesses the core philosophies and approaches within both systems and examines the prospects for ’plugging the gap’ in training between Britain and Germany. Finally, attention is given to the role of tradunions and collective bargaining as a vehicle for change.
TL;DR: However, the Church hierarchy did not adapt effectively to pluralist diversity and often appeared more concerned with its own institutional interests than with the social problems arising from the new capitalist system as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Catholic Church in Poland was a major social and political force in communist Poland and it mobilized its diverse resources to achieve significant policy victories in the period of Solidarity governments after 1989. The social welfare activities of Catholic organ izations increased. Thus it looked for a time as though the new social welfare regime would be a type of Catholic corporatism. However, the Church hierarchy did not adapt effectively to pluralist diversity. It often appeared more concerned with its own institutional interests than with the social problems arising from the new capitalist system. The electoral triumph of the successor parties in September 1993 inaug urated a deterioration in the relationship be tween Church and the new government, dominated by secular elements. The Church shifted its attention to a more overtly political agenda, especially the Concordat and the Constitution, and once again abortion. It did not participate in policy debates on welfare benefits, pensions, health ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that this represents a move towards a welfare-state regime similar to that found in the UK, which, for families with children, encourages the "Breadwinner" household where the father is the sole earner and the mother works in the home.
Abstract: Recent social policy reforms in Hungary have signalled a significant reduction in state sup port for working mothers, including the mtro duction of means-tested benefits for families with children. In this article we argue that this represents a move towards a welfare-state regime similar to that found in the UK, which, for families with children, encourages the 'Breadwinner' household where the father is the sole earner and the mother works in the home. Comparative analysis of the incidence of child poverty in the UK and Hungary in 1993, prior to the recent reforms, shows that children in Hungary were less likely to fall into poverty than their UK counterparts. We argue that this was a result of a combination of gen erous and universal state benefits for families with children, and high rates of labour market participation by mothers. We maintain that the reforms recently implemented in Hungary can be expected to lead to increases in child poverty, the incidence of which is partly deter mined by the degr...
TL;DR: An international dataset comparing state support for families in fifteen countries suggests that the economic convergence of the member states is likely to promote greater similarity in their systems of state welfare support for fam ilies.
Abstract: This study is based upon an international dataset comparing state support for families in fifteen countries (of which twelve are member states of the European Union)....Using multiple regression analysis the levels of state support are explained by the principal parameters used for setting the levels of benefit and by the demographic and economic characteristics of the countries concerned....[Results suggest] that the economic convergence of the member states is likely to promote greater similarity in their systems of state welfare support for families. (EXCERPT) (SUMMARY IN FRE)
TL;DR: The weakness of the analysis is not really compensated for by the range of data presented, since they are mamly compiled from a variety of already published sources, and suggest that there are differences and inequalities between and within countries.
Abstract: are mentioned, but with little analysis of their significance. The new care insurance system in Germany, for example, is interpreted as a reinforcement of ’the principle of individual responsibility’ (p. 35) hardly the most insightful analysis of this important development, which brought long-term care onto the policy agenda in Germany. The weakness of the analysis is not really compensated for by the range of data presented, since they are mamly compiled from a variety of already published sources. They do little more than suggest that there are differences and inequalities between and within countries. It is true, as the author points out, that we have only a limited amount of good cross-national infor-
TL;DR: The relationship between self-help and mutual help has been discussed extensively in AA literature as discussed by the authors, and the diffusion of the 12-step program to problems other than alcohol is discussed.
Abstract: Fellowship’s success. For this reviewer, some of the most interesting discussions revolve around the relationship between self-help and mutual-help (pp. 10-14), and between AA and other mutualhelp movements the diffusion of the 12-step programme to problems other than alcohol (pp. 216-35). As far as the first issue is concerned, it was useful to have attention drawn to the importance within AA of helping others, and helpmg oneself via helpmg others, that mutual help implies: ’the ideology of AA is explicitly one of mutual help, and many elements of its program emphasize social and group mteraction, while the term self-help carries an inappropriate connotation of the mdividual acting by himor herself’ (p. 13). And in relation to the second issue, of diffusion, in a fascination table on p. 217, 13 other move-