Showing papers in "Journal of European Social Policy in 1999"

Southern European Welfare Regimes and the Worsening Position of Women

Abstract: The article contributes to the current debate on welfare regimes, bringing together the widespread need for a fourth welfare regime besides Esping-Andersen's well-known typol ogy, and the results o...

Workfare With Welfare: Recent Reforms of the Danish Welfare State

Abstract: Denmark has recently seen a significant drop in unemployment that has not been matched by any corresponding increase in inflation. This article assumes that this remarkable achievement is rooted in the ongoing transition from the Keynesian welfare state (KWS) to a Schumpeterian workfare regime (SWR). The article compares the main features of the KWS with those of the SWR. It analyses the economic and political pressures behind the transition from the KWS to a SWR, and argues that we need to focus on the discursive construction of these pressures in order to avoid the dangers associated with functionalist explanations of societal changes. It then goes on to analyse the introduction of workfare policies in Denmark. The central claim is that Denmark has adopted an offensive workfare strategy. Hence, in Denmark workfare is disarticulated from the neo-liberal context within which it is located in the UK and the US and rearticulated with the social-democratic and universalistic welfare model. This disarticulati...

Parental Leave and Equal Opportunities: Experiences in Eight European Countries

Abstract: In June 1996, the EU directive on parental leave came into force. A major consideration in the introduction of this directive was its advantages for the reconciliation of work and family life. However, there is little systematic knowledge about the practical significance of parental leave arrangements in the European Union for equal opportunities policy. Given this situation, the main focus of this article is on empirical issues such as the number of (male and female) leavetakers and the length of the leave. In order to present comparative data, a user rate is calculated for eight European countries. It appears that the majority of leavetakers are women; even in Nordic countries there are big differences between the user rates of men and women. As a result, the importance of the actual parental leave arrangements for equal opportunities seems rather dubious.

Welfare Reform in the Nordic Countries in the 1990S: Using Fuzzy-Set Theory to Assess Conformity to Ideal Types

Abstract: This article uses a new method for policy analysis, fuzzy-set theory, which is a framework that allows for a precise operationalization of theoretical concepts. Fuzzy-set theory is used to assess the conformity of the Nordic countries to a pre-conceptualized ideal-typical Nordic welfare model. This permits us to assess recent welfare reform and judge whether changes are of a qualitative or quantitative nature, i.e. whether reform amounts to differences in kind or degree. Comparing the development of benefits in kind and cash within three welfare areas (families, the unemployed and the elderly) during the 1990s and across the Nordic countries gives us an opportunity to assess patterns of welfare reform. The patterns of welfare reform are complex, but fuzzy-set theory permits the study of diversity. Despite numerous changes, all the countries still belong to the Nordic welfare model, although to varying degrees. Generally, Finland and Sweden have implemented more cut-backs than Denmark and Norway, and all c...

Towards an equal division of paid and unpaid work: the case of the Netherlands

Abstract: Both the Netherlands and other European countries are involved in the transition from a breadwinner society towards a more individual-oriented society. What is unique in the Dutch case is the strong emphasis on the equal sharing of time, between paid and unpaid work as well as between women and men. Despite the preferences among citizens for a more equal sharing of paid and unpaid work, in practice it appears that general participation in paid labour is being achieved more rapidly than general participation in unpaid labour. The article looks at the obstacles and sticking points which stand in the way of the process of redistribution and investigates how this process can be accelerated. It includes an empirical analysis on survey data for the Netherlands with respect to both actual and preferred working hours for married and co-habitating men and women. The authors conclude that a consistent government policy is lacking. As a consequence neither individuals nor organizations get signals that might contrib...

Socio-Economic Effects of Immigration in Greece

Abstract: The undocumented economic immigrants (UEI) in Greece (about half a million since the early 1990s, forming the bulk of the immigration to the country) find jobs because of their wage and job-flexibl...

The New European Social Dialogue: Old Wine in New Bottles?

Abstract: This article analyses the Protocol on Social Policy and its Agreement and the social chapter of the Amsterdam Treaty not only in a legal, but mainly in an empirical perspective. The first part consists of a short summary of the basics of the new procedural rules (qualified majority voting versus unanimity, consultation and negotiations of the social partners) and the status of the corporate actors (ETUC, UNICE). In the second part, the first attempts at using the provisions of the Protocol are examined (European Works Councils, parental leave, burden of proof of sex discrimination, part-time work, information and consultation). Different problems emerging in the implementation processes of the results of legal enactment and voluntary agreements are the focus of the following analysis (interpretation and application of differing legal provisions, representativity of the signatory parties, problems of package deals, democratic legitimization). In the concluding section, the main findings are summarized (sco...

Socio-demographic change, policy impacts and outcomes in social Europe

Abstract: The period since the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957 has been marked by important socio-demographic changes. The population of the European Union has been ageing, family si...

The better part of valour: The politics of French welfare reform

Abstract: This article uses the French statist model as a test case for Paul Pierson's notion of 'blame avoidance' in retrenchment politics. In a comparative analysis of Prime Minister Edouard Balladur's health and pension reforms with those of his successor Alain Juppe, the article concludes that state strength creates both institutional 'assets' and 'liabilities' for elites undertaking retrenchment. In particular, it argues that, due to the political liabilities created by state autonomy in France, successful reform has depended upon judicious choice of policy substance and policy-making style on the part of elites. State autonomy thus may not yield, and indeed may be antithetical to, a capacious state in the context of welfare retrenchment. Accordingly, both political style and the substantive provisions of particular policy efforts can play a crucial role in compensating for the political liabilities that are inherent to welfare retrenchment and particularly acute in insular policy-making contexts.ResumeCet art...

The Erosion of the Welfare State: Swedish Social Policy and the EU*

Abstract: a section on the Swedish welfare state and the perceived impact of becoming a member of the EU, and another on the impact on EU social policy of Swedish participation. In conclusion it is suggested that the EU has contributed to the erosion of the Swedish welfare state. This process is likely to continue, albeit at a slow pace, largely as a result of the EU’s economic imperative which continues to overshadow and dominate the social.

Social Assistance: Recent Trends and Themes

Abstract: There is a widespread perception that social assistance schemes are growing in importance. A previous study (Eardley et al., 1996a, 1996b) found that during the 1980s and at least until 1993 there had been a steady increase in their significance, both in terms of the volume of expenditure and in terms of the number of recipients. The trend appeared to be international and was driven by a mixture of factors: some, the ‘push’ factors, were related to the contraction and transformation of social insurance schemes which effectively transferred the burden of dependency to assistance schemes; the ‘pull’ factors were where legislation sought to extend assistance-based schemes so as to extend targeting and bring more specific behavioural objectives into social security policy and practice. Underpinning both were socioeconomic, demographic and other contextual changes which saw rising levels of unemployment, lone parenthood and reported disability: in any event the demand for social assistance was seen to have increased. The purpose of this article is to describe policy developments in the field of social assistance since 1993. Information was sought from the 24 countries which had participated in the previous study; responses were received from all countries except Denmark, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands. The period covered by the review is therefore May 1993 to May 1996, with occasional reference being made to more recent developments. The previous study of social assistance identified no less than seven models of social assistance, each with a distinctive set of policy objectives and/or delivery structures. The past four years have seen further developments in the size and form of social assistance schemes, but patterns of innovation and adaptation have not been equal across all countries. On the basis of information received, there are a number (the ‘consolidators’) which have not engaged in any significant policy development beyond the up-rating of benefit levels, the refinement of existing objectives and minor administrative changes (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). However, two countries (the ‘extenders’) have introduced or substantially extended what were meagre social assistance schemes (Portugal and Turkey). The (predominantly) Englishspeaking countries (the ‘innovators’) have all introduced significant changes (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and USA).

Minimum Income in Switzerland

Abstract: This article gives an overview of the prevailing system of minimum income provision in Switzerland. Minimum income is understood as monetary transfers supplied by social insurance or social assistance which guarantee an income floor covering basic living maintenance. Such benefits can either boost regular benefits from social insurance up to a subsistence level or provide temporary means-tested income support to meet urgent needs in emergency situations. Qualifying conditions, scope and duration of benefits as well as institutions running and funding these programmes are described. It is shown that means testing is quite strict, while benefits are very generous from a comparative perspective. Moreover, the article compares Switzerland's social policy towards poor people with the experience of other OECD countries.

The New Employment Chapter of the Amsterdam Treaty

Abstract: The Amsterdam Treaty was signed two years ago and in April 1999 it was ratified by all the Member States. One of the main changes was the introduction of a Chapter on Employment (Digest, JESP, 7.4.1 and 7.4.2). At national level, three general elections (United Kingdom, France, Germany) have modified the political context. In the UK, the new Labour government put an end to the Conservative opposition to a European social policy. It supports the attempt to create a social partnership both at national and European level. The victory of the French Socialists provided an occasion to relaunch the discussion on other aspects of monetary integration (economic governance, taxation, employment, etc.). And finally, the new German government brought into the debate the relation between macroeconomic and monetary policy and more particularly the issue of wage increases. In this paper we present in a schematic way a few of the main events that characterized that period (1997–99), relying on the main Community documents and some of the recent academic analysis. As a yardstick we will use the questions we raised some time ago about the prospects offered by the new Employment chapter (Goetschy and Pochet, 1997). We highlighted three points in particular: the dynamics of the process, its content and the link with macro-economic policy. First, we considered that the new thrust initiated by the new chapter should mean that the European and national, or indeed subnational, levels could interact more effectively, while at the same time it could set up dynamic relationships in which the social players, at European and more importantly at national level, could become involved in an increasingly developed consultative mechanism. Next, we wondered about the consistency of the November 1997 Luxembourg Summit for employment. Anticipating the ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty and its employment chapter, the European Council adopted nineteen measures, which fall into four chapters (Employability, Adaptability, Developing Entrepreneurship and Equal Opportunities) (Digest, JESP, 8.1.7). Our concerns were twofold. First, we considered that the need for a joint approach to the unemployment problem was at least questionable. Unemployment has been reduced in a number of countries using different remedies (e.g., the UK versus the Netherlands, or Ireland versus Denmark). Secondly, the choice of a ‘diplomatic’ type of process, such as the negotiations that take place within the Council of Ministers (several of which are involved here, given the interaction between Ecofin and Social Affairs, with the European Council on top of the pile) struck us as risky in terms of the consistency of diagnosis and solutions. In other words, the process could favour consensual solutions (such as vocational training) which are perhaps not the best, rather than more controversial solutions (for example, to reduce labour costs or working time) which might be more effective. Finally, and this was the most critical EUROPEAN BRIEFING

The welfare state between new stimuli and new pressures: Austrian social policy and the EU:

Abstract: Austria has traditionally belonged to the group of Western European countries with highly distinctive systems of welfare provision, focused mainly on the needs of past and present contributors, and their families (Badelt and Osterle, 1998; Talos and Worister, 1998) Its performance in social policy terms – like that of Sweden and Finland – has thus been markedly different from the comparatively modest provision characteristic of the European Community/Union prior to the three countries’ accession in 1995 By then, fundamental strategic decisions had already been taken within the EU, with the introduction of the single market, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, and the adoption of plans for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) At the same time, important changes were taking place in the context of social provision inside Austria: new political priorities were being set, unemployment was rising, competitive pressures were growing The welfare state was also coming under clear pressure from various sources: funding problems, growing numbers taking early retirement, the risk of poverty This coincidence prompts three questions: To what extent did, and does, Austria’s EU accession affect its social policy performance?; How do these effects compare with the expectations raised before accession?; What feedback effects, if any, were – and are – there on the EU as a whole? This article will examine these questions by analysing the social policy effects of Austria’s entry into the EU in various spheres While expectations and the immediate impact of Austria’s accession will be discussed in the first section, the second section is devoted to the interaction between Austrian and EU social policy in terms of underlying principles, to the effects at institutional level, and to examples drawn from specific social policy areas

High-Rise Estates in Europe: is Rescue Possible?

Abstract: The article analyses the role of five European post-war governments in the production and organization of large-scale social housing estates based on the underlying belief in their power to reorder society through physical changes to the urban environment. The causes of the rapid social decline of mass housing schemes are linked to a mistaken concept of urban design, the scale of public interventions and the inadequate organizational framework adopted to manage the new communities. The resulting fundamental problems were exacerbated by social and economic factors. A radical change in direction among the main actors was forced in the 1980s by the crisis in housing conditions in the worst estates and the declining viability of social landlords. The alternative approach that emerged to tackle estate problems was more attuned to city dynamics and to community needs. Estate construction was a top-down form of social engineering based on physical form. Estate renewal was a bottom-up, organizational approach foc...

Income mobility and the welfare state: an international comparison with panel data

Abstract: This article examines gross and net equivalent income mobility in the western and eastern states of Germany, in Great Britain and in the United States, using panel data of these countries from the ...

‘Entrepreneurial Freedom Versus Employee Rights’: the Acquired Rights Directive and EU Social Policy Post-Amsterdam:

Abstract: In attempting to reconcile the objectives of both employment security and labour market flexibility, the 1977 Acquired Rights Directive (ARD) represents the type of social legislation championed in the Treaty of Amsterdam. This article discusses the 20-year history of this Directive in order to examine some of the problems which arise when policy is driven by economic and social objectives which may be mutually inconsistent. In particular, we consider whether the continuing legal confusion associated with this Directive can be, in part, attributed to the conflict between these objectives. This examination concentrates particularly upon the impact of the ARD upon the attempts by EU Member States Government, particularly Britain, attempts to impose market-based reforms upon the public provision of services.

A Threat to Social Security? the Impact of Eu Membership on the Finnish Welfare State

Abstract: In the fifth year of membership of the EU, the Finnish welfare state shows no serious signs of erosion. Furthermore, the changes that have taken place in Finnish social policies are largely due to factors separate from EU and EMU membership. As the extent and the effects of EU social policy are very limited and as EU social policy does not for the most part fall within the traditional definition of social policy (a structure of transfers and services aimed at redistribution among the entire population), this article focuses mainly on the indirect effects of EU and EMU membership, on Finnish social policies. This article argues that while social policy restructuring was frequently explained and justified by politicians on the grounds of EU membership, and while central decisionmakers were obviously very determined to meet the convergence criteria, the pressures to fulfil certain macroeconomic criteria, similar to the convergence criteria, would have existed in the absence of any intention to join the EU. The main motives for welfare state restructuring were the recession that eroded the financial basis of the welfare state, and the changed rules of macroeconomic management that rendered a number of economic and social policy responses to economic crises redundant. Furthermore, the logic and details of social policy restructuring can only be understood in the light of domestic social policy structures, institutions, and political legacies.2 The article first describes the changes that have taken place in Finnish social policy in the 1990s; then examines the expected and actual social policy consequences of EU and EMU; and concludes by emphasizing the role of domestic actors as agents of Europeanization. The Finnish welfare state has not undergone systemic change as a result of the restructuring in the 1990s. Finland continues to have a distinctly encompassing model of social provision. The universal character of certain benefits has been eliminated (the national pension and basic sickness benefit) but the impact of this on benefit recipients has not been great.3 Earnings-related benefits continue to provide income replacement at a relatively high level and hence discourage private insurances. Benefits of last resort are now more tightly means-tested, but they still prevent increases in poverty rates effectively. International statistics show that Finland is still one of the world leaders in welfare expenditure (OECD Economic Surveys, Finland, 1998; OECD Economies at a Glance, Structural Indicators, 1996; OECD Historical Statistics, 1997). Relatively equal income distribution, low poverty rates, world-class standards in public services, and many other facts testify to the robust health of the Finnish welfare state (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 1996a: 96; Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 1998a: 5; 1998b: 12). This is particularly impressive in the light of the extremely heavy pressures put on the social EUROPEAN BRIEFING

Book Review: A Theory of Poverty and Social Exclusion

Abstract: unbridled operation of the free market. Despite these circumstances, there is discernible preference expressed in Chapter 9 for the Thatcherite minimalist welfare state, also called liberal capitalism. On the whole, a heroic attempt is made to sift the relevant available objective and subjective evidence within an intellectual framework that can serve as a model for similar examinations about the achievements of transformation; many valuable observations and lessons emerge. However, I am left with three concerns. First, the time-period used for detecting really significant shifts is short because some of the manifestations of change have a longer gestation period, and so the conclusions reached in the book must remain provisional. Second, the analysis in terms of purely monetary variables – that is, hedonistic consumerism, which sidelines such quality-oflife indicators as crime, neighbourliness, social solidarity and cohesion, and so on – is loaded in favour of the transformation and capitalism. Finally, and fundamentally, it would seem that the author rejects one set of dogmas for another set; the ideological dogmas of communism are cast aside without the expression of much scepticism towards the glories of the free market. In the light of the traumas of the Asian economy and the rouble, the current fashion is to veer back to the social market or the mixed economy, the so-called ‘Third Way’. Deo Ramprakash Visiting Professor, University of Bath, UK

Book Review: The Dynamics of Modern Society Poverty, Policy and Welfare

Abstract: child sexual abuse, he reveals the potential dangers for children of solidaristic notions of social relations. Pringle argues that principles of social consensus and solidarity, characteristic of many European welfare systems, have led to a very particular approach to child welfare. This can lead to extensive welfare provision designed to meet the needs of children and families. However, the notion of social solidarity may also engender a resistance to recognition and understanding of the power imbalances that lie within the family. ‘Moreover, welfare policies designed to promote social inclusion may promote social control and attempt to cover up sharp social divisions rather than challenging them’ (p. 179). Conversely, Pringle argues that in the United Kingdom an absence of commitment to social solidarity has led to a broader social welfare environment. This has resulted in a greater acknowledgement of social divisions and some development of anti-oppressive social welfare, particularly in relation to the complex issues of gender and ‘race’, within child protection and child-care policy and practice. Throughout the book, Pringle argues that children and their carers suffer from a complex of oppressive power relations associated with gender, ‘race’, age, disability and sexuality. Using a clear anti-oppressive framework to critique the systems of power and control inherent in children’s lives, he argues that any analysis of child welfare provision must acknowledge and address these oppressions. He thus addresses and challenges many of the social oppressions that impact upon children, pointing out that welfare systems have not only frequently failed to challenge them but may well reinforce them. However, although Pringle highlights the impact of different and interlocking oppressions on children and their carers, children themselves are still analysed within a familial context. Consequently, issues such as age oppression, power differentials between adults and children and the effects of children’s relative structural and social powerlessness are not fully explored. What emerges particularly clearly from this book is how important it is to develop a childfocused perspective with which to explore the effects of welfare policies on children. Pringle’s focus is largely upon children in the context of their families, and in this respect there is clearly still a need for further analysis that places the child at the centre. Issues such as provision of child care have a very different resonance for children than for their carers, and as yet we are still poorly placed to understand the impact of many of these areas of social welfare as they relate to children. However, by drawing together material from across Europe and in particular through widening his discussions to include the situation of children in Eastern Europe, and the influence of pan-European institutions, Pringle has produced a wide-ranging and compelling look at the welfare situation of European children. In doing so, he combines both theory and practice to provide a valuable source book for both students and practitioners in child welfare. Tess Ridge University of Bath, UK