Showing papers in "Journal of European Social Policy in 2007"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a comparative study of financial transfers and social support in ten Western European countries based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) conducted in 2004.
Abstract: Summary The ‘generational contract’ is the most important and also the most contentious dimension of contemporary welfare systems. Much of the debate on how to reform it is still truncated, however, by focusing on its public dimension only, especially on pensions and health-care provisions. For a full account, the transfer of resources between adult generations in the family needs to be included as well. So far, research on family transfers has almost exclusively been limited to singlecountry studies. In this article, we present a comparative study of financial transfers and social support in ten Western European countries based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) conducted in 2004. Our results confirm, at the European level, the existence of a common transfer pattern. There is a net downward flow from the older to the younger generations, both by inter vivos financial transfers and by social support. Transfers from the elderly parents to their children are much more frequent and also usually much more intense than those in the opposite direction. The positive balance decreases with age but even those over the age of 70 clearly remain net givers. Our results also demonstrate that country-specific transfer patterns follow the typology of welfare regimes. Transfers from parents to children are less frequent but more intense in the Southern European countries than in the Nordic ones, with the Continental European countries being somewhere in between the two. This welfare regime effect still holds after controlling for the most relevant characteristics of the parents.
526 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether there are systematic differences in attitudes to work and family life as proposed by Hakim and found that opinions matter but they are constrained by opportunity structures which are not alike for all women across different countries.
Abstract: Summary In her Work–Lifestyle Choices, Hakim argued that attitudinal factors like work–lifestyle preferences are more important than institutions or structures in explaining female employment. Our aim is to study whether we can substantiate Hakim’s preference theory or whether we should lay more emphasis on institutional factors. We ask whether there are systematic differences in attitudes to work and family life as proposed by Hakim. To what extent do the attitudinal dimensions react to institutional variables such as day care and family leave possibilities? What are the relative roles of opinions on family life and working life and traditional sociological variables such as education, income and socio-economic status? How does a spouse’s opinion affect women’s choices (intrafamily attitudinal consistency)? We utilize the International Social Survey Programme data from 2002 and combine it with indicators of the quality of child-care and parental-leave policies in Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Our findings suggest that opinions matter but they are constrained by opportunity structures which are not alike for all women across different countries; opportunities depend not only on structural factors but also on institutional factors, such as the availability of day care. In addition, the opinion of male partners seems to influence women’s decisions about employment.
161 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how welfare regimes, trust and self-rated health are related, primarily with multilevel logistic regressions, and found that large variations in trust between European welfare regimes and a strong association between trust and health at population level.
Abstract: Summary It has been suggested that welfare state characteristics are important for the creation of social trust and moreover that trust is related to health. However, the relationship between social capital and health has not previously been analysed from a welfare state perspective. This article therefore examines how welfare regimes, trust and self-rated health are related, primarily with multilevel logistic regressions. The findings suggest large variations in trust between European welfare regimes and a strong association between trust and health at population level. An association was also found between the post-socialist regime and individual health. This association persisted after adjustment for several confounders/mediators but turned non-significant after adjustment for contextual trust. This suggests that social trust might account for the association. The results further indicate that contexts with low trust, such as the post-socialist context, are somewhat more detrimental for the health of distrustful individuals. In overall terms, these findings suggest that contextual social trust could explain health differences between European welfare regimes.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a critique and analysis of recent OECD research by Adema and Ladaique identifying the impact of taxes and private benefits on social spending is presented, showing that both gross public and net private expenditures are strongly influenced by partisan incumbency, although in opposite directions.
Abstract: This article offers a critique and analysis of recent OECD research by Adema and Ladaique identifying the impact of taxes and private benefits on social spending. By using the techniques of multivariate modelling, we show that both gross public and net private expenditures are strongly influenced by partisan incumbency, although in opposite directions, and that the more we net out the effect of taxes, the less politics matters and the more spending is shaped by socio-economic forces. In a second stage of the analysis, we show that the crucial mechanism of welfare state redistribution is the taxation of gross social expenditure and demonstrate that this effect is almost entirely political in nature.
92 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that state-of-the-art indicators are not powerful enough to account for the nuanced politics of welfare state change across mature welfare states as they produce inconsistent and in several cases contrary findings on the country level, which also appear to be at odds with the established notion of regime dependence.
Abstract: Summary The introduction of innovative macro-measures has been one of the preferred means to account for identified limitations of traditional quantitative approaches in comparative analyses of the welfare state. However, these state-of-the-art indicators are not powerful enough to account for the nuanced politics of ‘welfare state change’ across mature welfare states as they produce inconsistent – and in several cases contrary – findings on the country level, which also appear to be at odds with the established notion of ‘regime dependence’ in the historical, case-study literature. Touching upon the limitations of the relevant indicators, we argue that they can at best be seen as crude approximations; this is the root cause for the above asymmetries. The ‘dependent variable problem’ within the comparative analysis of the welfare state is a problem of data and operational definitions as much as it is a problem of theoretical conceptualization. While the combination of nuanced quantitative and historical findings has become the norm in the broader literature, the article stresses the potential of disaggregated analyses of individual social policy domains within nations and its combination with detailed case-study analyses of social policy making.
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the Lisbon agenda presents a coherent vision of a social model which can be characterized as a Europe-wide Adult Worker Model (AWM), a system which assumes paid employment for all adults in order to secure their economic independence.
Abstract: The Lisbon Process, launched in 2000 and relaunched in 2005, revived the debate about the existence of a European social model. This article argues that the Lisbon agenda presents a coherent vision of a social model which can be characterized as a Europe-wide Adult Worker Model (AWM). This is a system which assumes paid employment for all adults in order to secure their economic independence. The article identifies evidence of a development in this direction in the European Employment Strategy guidelines from 1997 through to the 2005 integrated macro-economic and employment guidelines. It concludes that this reorientation of the European social model is a vision of a supported AWM welfare system more akin to Sweden than the United States. However, the soft governance method used for social policy makes it vulnerable to changing political constellations in member states.
88 citations
TL;DR: The study finds that, if all moderately/severely dependent older people receive an entitlement to formal (in-kind) home care, the impact on expenditure could be considerable, but would vary greatly between countries.
Abstract: As the numbers of older people rise in Europe, the importance of long-term care services in terms of numbers of users and expenditures can be expected to grow. This article examines the implications for expenditure in four countries of a national entitlement to long-tem care services for all older people, based on assessed dependency. It is based on a European Commission-funded cross-national study, which makes projections to 2050 of long-term care expenditure in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The policy option investigated is based on the German long-term care insurance scheme, which embodies the principle of an entitlement on uniform national criteria to long-term care benefits. The research models this key principle of the German system in the other three participating countries, with respect to home care services. The study finds that, if all moderately/severely dependent older people receive an entitlement to formal (in-kind) home care, the impact on expenditure could be considerable, but would va...
75 citations
TL;DR: Material on health care reform in Britain and Germany is used to highlight ways in which consumerism is refracted through different institutional histories and current political projects, which give rise to different inflections on the meaning of consumerism.
Abstract: New governance practices associated with the modernization of health systems within Europe focus on equipping health consumers with more information and power in their interactions with clinicians. This article uses material on health care reform in Britain and Germany to highlight ways in which consumerism is refracted through different institutional histories and current political projects. These give rise to different inflections on the meaning of consumerism, including the different associations of `choice', and to different forms of consumer involvement as `stakeholders' in health care systems.
70 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the impact of government preferences and administrative capacity on the pace of transposition in the social policy field in the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Abstract: This article analyses transposition of European Union (EU) social policy legislation in the new member states (NMS) from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In order to account for the varying rate of adoption of EU law at the national level the article develops several hypotheses about the impact of government preferences and administrative capacity on the pace of transposition in the social policy field. The hypotheses are tested on a new dataset comprising data on the transposition of EU social policy directives in the new member states. The results of the quantitative empirical analysis show that government support for European integration and administrative effectiveness has positive and substantial effects on the number of directives transposed in a given period of time. However, government positions on the Left—Right and libertarianism—traditionalism dimensions do not affect the adoption of EU social policy legislation in CEE.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the extent to which the state-supported outsourcing of women's unpaid domestic labour helps to reduce the work-life conflict and time famine which they face.
Abstract: Summary In France, the Cheque Emploi-Service Universel is the current policy tool with which the state subsidizes and supports the use of paid domestic services by households. Evaluations of this scheme and of its forerunners, the Cheque Emploi-Service and the Titre Emploi-Service, have been very positive both within France and at European Union level. This article questions this conclusion by assessing the extent to which the state-supported outsourcing of women’s unpaid domestic labour helps to reduce the work–life conflict and time famine which they face. It demonstrates that the impact of these schemes is marginal both in terms of the range of households which benefit from them and in terms of the amount of relief gained by the women who purchase paid domestic services. Indeed, such schemes are shown to exacerbate the problem of the unequal gender division of domestic labour. This is because they reinforce the gender stereotyping surrounding domestic work by transferring it from more well-off to less well-off women. Consequently, the question of the redistribution of domestic tasks between men and women is side-stepped.
49 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that differences in earnings and labour market participation between women with different family histories are the major driver in the gaps in gross and disposable incomes that they observe. But they also found that women with a medium level of education were more likely to experience family gaps in family income.
Abstract: Summary Using data on seven countries, we estimate trajectories in family incomes for families with and without children following several stylized life-courses. Focusing mainly on women with a medium level of education, we find, in general, that gaps in family income are smallest in the Nordic countries, intermediate in the Anglo-American countries, and largest in the continental European countries. Our findings are similar to patterns observed in the literature on family gaps in women’s earnings and suggest that differences in earnings and labour market participation between women with different family histories are the major driver in the gaps in gross and disposable incomes that we observe.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that a singular approach to a social risk creates a social residue that may evoke social pressure which can in turn be diminished by hybridizing the arrangement; that is, changing allocation rules to include new social groups or to cover previously uncovered needs.
Abstract: In this article, we propose a method for the disaggregation of welfare state regimes that enhances our insight into innovative welfare state change; that is, change beyond the borders of regime logic. Welfare states, we argue, are composed of different approaches to various social risks, and the approach to each social risk is often ‘hybrid’: it consists of various types of arrangements. It is no coincidence that risk approaches, and consequently welfare states, are often hybrid entities. We argue that a singular approach to a social risk creates a social residue that may evoke social pressure which can in turn be diminished by hybridizing the arrangement; that is, changing allocation rules to include new social groups or to cover previously uncovered needs. In itself, however, a hybrid arrangement is unstable. This is why hybridization may be followed by either a return to a singular risk approach so that social pressure re-emerges, or by the establishment of a new, additional arrangement so that a hybrid risk approach emerges. This is innovative change. We do not argue that innovative change inevitably occurs. Change requires that groups facing residues are able to employ sufficient power resources. However, some level of autonomous institutional welfare state change is to be expected as an outcome of the continuous creation of residues.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a systematic comparison of the legal transposition of six selected EU social policy directives in Poland with transposition (problems) of the same directives in the EU-15.
Abstract: Summary Recent studies on the implementation of EU social policy directives in the EU-15 demonstrate a considerable compliance gap. These findings lead to the question: What about the new member states? Will Eastern enlargement contribute to a further widening of this gap? This article provides a systematic comparison of the legal transposition of six selected EU social policy directives in Poland with transposition (problems) of the same directives in the EU-15. The article shows that policy effects of the EU social acquis in Poland were not higher than in the old member states. Extensive EU monitoring has contributed to an extremely high transposition performance of Poland. Recent research on compliance distinguishes three ‘worlds of compliance’ in the EU-15. Analysing the legal transposition of EU social policy directives in Poland shows that, as yet, there are no signs of a particular fourth ‘Eastern world of compliance’.
TL;DR: In this article, a decomposition analysis is performed concerning the evolution of the unemployment rate, poverty rate, benefit recipiency rate and social expenditure rate in the 15 original EU member states and the United States since the 1980s.
Abstract: Summary Increasing the level of labour participation is one of the key objectives of the European Employment Strategy and the Lisbon agenda. Increasing the employment rate is generally considered crucially important to safeguarding the sustainability of the welfare state and achieving a number of other socio-economic objectives. This article examines the extent to which higher employment does result in lower unemployment, lower poverty rates, decreased dependence on social security and reductions in public expenditures on social protection. To this end, a decomposition analysis is performed concerning the evolution of the unemployment rate, poverty rate, benefit recipiency rate and social expenditure rate in the 15 original EU member states and the United States since the 1980s. Results of this analysis show that, in many cases, the favourable effects of increases in employment are partially (and sometimes even fully) offset by simultaneous changes in other variables, including labour supply, eligibility criteria, benefit generosity and the concentration of non-working people in work-poor households. The article concludes that increasing the employment rate is not a panacea for all socio-economic ills. European social policy should therefore focus less one-sidedly on employment and should address additional objectives, including benefit generosity and poverty. In addition, the process of benchmarking in the EU should be transformed from its current top-down character to one which proceeds from the bottom up.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the policy rationales of three major reforms in the 1990s concerning parents' rights to time to care, by drawing on policy documents and parliamentary debates.
Abstract: The social revolutions connected to postindustrialism are altering the landscape of social politics, affecting both the content and normative justification of policy reform. The changing ideational foundation of care policy is addressed in this case-study of Norway. The study examines the policy rationales of three major reforms in the 1990s concerning parents’ rights to time to care, by drawing on policy documents and parliamentary debates. A conceptual ‘trichotomy’ of key policy rationales - equality, recognition and choice - informs the empirical analysis. Analysed in context, the three reforms illustrate the multifaceted blend of ‘old’ and ‘new’ policy justifications, expanding the ‘political grammar’ of care policies.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined variations in housing quality, accessibility and affordability in the EU, and on this basis proposed a typology of inter-country variations in Housing conditions, revealing good housing conditions in the northern EU member states, intermediate conditions in most of the remaining ‘long-standing’ member states and poor conditions in many of the Central and Eastern European member states.
Abstract: This article examines variations in housing quality, accessibility and affordability in the EU, and on this basis proposes a typology of inter-country variations in housing conditions. This typology reveals good housing conditions in the ‘long-standing’ northern EU member states, intermediate conditions in most of the remaining ‘long-standing’ member states and poor conditions in many of the ‘new’ Central and Eastern European member states. The institutional context within which these variations have arisen is also considered specifically in relation to: housing tenure systems, finance and subsidy systems, construction systems and trends, and governance arrangements, as are the implications of these inequalities for the EU and how they can be addressed.
TL;DR: In this paper, a result-oriented system of incentives has been developed to integrate jobseekers as rapidly as possible in order to integrate them into non-subsidized employment in the German public employment service.
Abstract: Summary Since 2003, the German Public Employment Service has been experimenting with the contracting-out of various services. One of the new labour market programmes is Personnel Service Agencies (PSAs), which provide client firms with jobseekers on a temporary assignment basis and are responsible for integrating jobseekers into non-subsidized employment. By contracting-out employment services, the Public Employment Service seeks to exploit efficiency gains characteristic of enterprises that compete in quasi-markets. In order to integrate jobseekers as rapidly as possible, a result-oriented system of incentives has been developed. This article describes the institutional setting and examines its appropriateness for efficient job placement services.
TL;DR: Access to health care in neighbouring regions of `old' and `new' EU member states: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia is discussed.
Abstract: In the European Union, a growing body of regulations and decisions attempt to facilitate cross-border health treatments. These focus on coordinating social protection for those migrating or travell...
TL;DR: The social security system in Turkey was radically transformed in 2006 with the enactment of the Social Security and General Health Insurance Law and the social Security Institution Law as mentioned in this paper, which was called Social Security Institution Act.
Abstract: The social security system in Turkey was radically transformed in 2006 with the enactment of the Social Security and General Health Insurance Law and the Social Security Institution Law. This brief...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the structure of the reforms and examine the extent to which they reduce or eliminate the categorical allocation of public resources; replace in-kind benefits with cash transfers; and target benefits, in whatever form, to low-income people.
Abstract: Summary Based on national legislation passed in the summer of 2004, Russia implemented wideranging changes to its system of category-based social benefits in January 2005. Implementation difficulties made headlines around the world. This article discusses the structure of the reforms and examines the extent to which they: (a) reduce or eliminate the categorical allocation of public resources; (b) replace in-kind benefits with cash transfers; and (c) target benefits, in whatever form, to low-income people. The overall conclusions are that the reforms score very badly against criteria (a) and (c), but get a middling score for cashing-out benefits.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue for more generous tax-financed social pensions alongside contributory pension provision, to combat old-age poverty in Bulgaria and suggest that Bulgaria's pursuit of fuller integration and development within the EU cannot be divorced from better meeting the social security needs of its ageing population.
Abstract: Focusing on the social impacts of the 2000—2 pension reform in Bulgaria, the article examines how Bulgarian pensioners cope with income risk in old age. Reporting that old-age pensions are frequently inadequate to household consumption needs, the authors argue for more generous tax-financed social pensions alongside contributory pension provision, to combat old-age poverty. As the poorest country to date to achieve European Union accession, the article concludes by suggesting that Bulgaria's pursuit of fuller integration and development within the EU cannot be divorced from better meeting the social security needs of its ageing population.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a corporatist country : Pensioners' organizations and pension policy in Sweden and present a survey of the main players in the Swedish pension system.
Abstract: Client organizations in a corporatist country : Pensioners’ organizations and pension policy in Sweden
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider EU social and cohesion policies in the context of the recent negotiation of the EU budget for 2007 and find the Commission's wish to redistribute EU spending in favour of these policy areas and new member states was thwarted by key political features of EU budget making: CAP spending levels which are downwardly sticky; institutional arrangements which provide for budget making as, at best, a zero-sum game; and the preferences of contributor member states in the EU-15 to contain overall spending while preserving their net budget positions.
Abstract: The development of the Open Method of Coordination, agreement on the Lisbon Agenda and EU enlargement offered the prospect of a new and substantial EU social policy agenda. This article considers EU social and cohesion policies in the context of the recent negotiation of the EU budget for 2007—13. We find the Commission's wish to redistribute EU spending in favour of these policy areas and new member states was thwarted by key political features of EU budget making: CAP spending levels which are downwardly sticky; institutional arrangements which provide for budget making as, at best, a zero-sum game; and the preferences of contributor member states in the EU-15 to contain overall spending while preserving their net budget positions. Questions are thus raised as to the ability of the EU to make any progress, from a budgetary perspective, on the social and cohesion policy agenda in an enlarged EU.
TL;DR: Chan and Bowpitt as discussed by the authors developed a definition of human dignity, applied the definition to a comparative analysis of the treatment of unemployed people in four countries, and then used this assessment to put forward an alternative typology of welfare states.
Abstract: This book represents an attempt to develop a definition of human dignity, apply the definition to a comparative analysis of the treatment of unemployed people in four countries, and then use this assessment to put forward an alternative typology of welfare states. Human dignity is an increasingly important concept in social policy debates, so it is important to clarify what is meant by it. Chan and Bowpitt develop their own definition by trawling the writings of an eclectic mix of psychologists, philosophers, religious writers and others. The seven essential elements retrieved from this exploration are physical well-being, psychological well-being, the ability to fulfil caring duties (being able to meet your children’s needs), social integration, human learning/development, self-determination and equal value. The authors’ empirical focus is on unemployed people, whose economic weakness makes them a crucial test of whether a welfare system truly strives to promote human dignity. Chan and Bowpitt are also interested in what they call ‘workfare’, though ‘activation’ may be the more appropriate term. They justify their choice of the four countries examined in relation to the recent economic pressures in two (Hong Kong and Sweden), and the nature of the welfare systems in the other two – China’s being a socialist market welfare state and the UK’s being work-oriented. The way in which unemployed people are treated within each of these welfare states is comprehensively analysed. The countries are then compared under each element of human dignity. Particularly relevant features include the level of benefits, the nature of conditionality and the degree of professionalism of employment services staff. The authors also examine how unemployed people are treated by officials, their public image and their opportunities to influence policy. The focus on these aspects is welcome, as it takes us into the politics of ‘recognition’ as well as ‘redistribution’. There is no investigation, however, of whether means-tested benefits as opposed to non-means-tested benefits, or dependence on another person rather than on the state, may have a different impact on human dignity. And the personalization of employment services is seen as a goal to strive for, without real reflection on the increased scope for discretion, and possibly discrimination, this entails. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sweden emerges as the country that best preserves the dignity of unemployed people, although the authors argue that some aspects still need to be worked on even there. Sweden’s advantages over the UK include the more generous level of benefits and the professional training of the staff who deal with unemployed people. The analysis sees collective welfare provision, political participation and control over one’s own life, as well as clear national objectives and well-planned intervention, as key factors associated with achieving greater human dignity. Finally, the authors propose a new typology of welfare states based on human dignity. While this is an original exercise, it is inevitably limited largely to the treatment of unemployed people in benefits and employment services. Despite its symbolic nature, this does seem a rather narrow base on which to build an alternative typology. The discussion could usefully be linked to wider topical debates about conditionality’ which often put more weight on the nature of the jobs and labour market into which unemployed people are being ‘activated’ in assessing the quality of the quid pro quo with which they are presented. And the voices of unemployed people themselves could be integrated more with such an analysis. This book nonetheless provides a brave starting point, and a clear impetus, for further exploration of a significant concept.
TL;DR: Menz et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the impact of European liberalization efforts on the re-regulatory capacity of different national models and found a U-shaped regulation pattern: both French statism and Nordic corporatism led to labourfriendly protectionism via legislation or social partners' coordination, while the intermediate' German and Dutch social partnerships tipped towards a business-friendly segmentation which empowered employers more than labour in setting wages for posted workers.
Abstract: regimes. Yet few studies have looked more closely at the impact of European liberalization efforts on the (re-)regulatory capacity of different national models. Can these distinct labour relations systems maintain their wage levels in a single European market where workers and services are free to move? This book by Georg Menz looks at the European Union’s liberalization of service provision as a potential threat to wage-setting systems, and the actual scope for re-regulation of these since the 1990s. It is based on the author’s PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, VA, which received the best dissertation award of the European Union Studies Association (USA) in 2001. Menz seeks to combine two perspectives, on ‘Europeanization’ and ‘organized capitalism’ respectively. He postulates in Chapter 2 that the European Union’s ‘topdown’ approach to deregulation via liberalization of services will lead to ‘bottom-up’ counter-moves by governments and social partners in coordinated market economies to attempt to overcome the threatening regulation gap. Despite the book’s suggestive title, the theoretical framework and comparative map of labour relations provided in Chapters 2 and 3 seems to be closer to corporatist theories of collective interests than to the firm-centred Varieties of Capitalism view, even though the author discusses the particularities of the construction sector as the main empirical case for the problem of posted workers. In the empirical Chapters 4 and 5, Menz compares the national responses in respect of re-regulation of wages for posted workers and its implementation in more detail for three core national cases (Austria, France and Germany), and more broadly also for the Benelux and Nordic countries. The study’s empirical material – the positions of the main political actors and social partners as well as the regulatory strategies adopted – is well organized and neatly presented. These core chapters and the Appendix are certainly informative as a comparative overview on labour relations, independently of whether one is interested in the issue of posted workers. Having marshalled detailed case-studies of organized power relations and national response strategies, Menz finds a ‘U-shaped’ regulation pattern: both French statism and Nordic (and Austrian) corporatism led to labourfriendly protectionism via legislation or social partners’ coordination, while the ‘intermediate’ German and Dutch social partnerships tipped towards a business-friendly segmentation which empowered employers more than labour in setting wages for posted workers. The concluding chapter briefly sketches the implications for the enlarged EU-25, with its increased migration incentives and the ‘magnet’ of high-wage economies, of the study’s findings on the liberalization of services before 2004. Yet the question for the future remains largely open: will further liberalization efforts and the erosion of former corporatist labour relations in coordinated market economies not lead to less and less ‘labour-friendly’ national re-regulation of wages under competitive pressures?
TL;DR: Crouch, Streeck, and Thelen as mentioned in this paper argue that the relationship between function and form is more than historically contingent and call for entrepreneurial actors in the social sciences to discover subcutaneous but substantial change.
Abstract: spicuously – ‘simply by encouraging or tolerating selfinterested subversion of collective institutions from below’ (Streeck and Thelen, p. 33). It is this ‘more than historically contingent’ (Streeck and Thelen, p. 33) association of ‘function’ and ‘form’, the liaison dangereuse of liberalization and incrementalism, that calls for entrepreneurial actors in the social sciences. We are badly in need of innovative and creative researchers who can swim against the tide of the neoinstitutionalist mainstream and are equipped with the theoretical sensibility and the methodological devices for discovering subcutaneous but substantial change. Crouch, Streeck, and Thelen show them the way.
TL;DR: McEwen et al. as mentioned in this paper compared the relevance and robustness of welfare state nationalisms in other multinational states and concluded that substate nationalism is not solely responsible for the sustained drive to decentralization in European and Canadian politics.
Abstract: contrasts the two case-studies, and considers what inferences can be drawn from the empirical analysis for the relevance and robustness of the concept of welfare state nationalisms in other multinational states. Perhaps one aspect which could have been further emphasized is the fact that substate nationalism is not solely responsible for the sustained drive to decentralization in European and Canadian politics. In fact, claims for multi-level governance based upon the more general principles of territorial subsidiarity and proximity have been put forward by regionalist and federalist actors on both sides of the Atlantic. Unquestionably, the strength of Scottish and Quebecois nationalisms ought to be identified as paramount in such efforts for achieving a greater say in the running of public policies at the substate level, and particularly as forms of what McEwen appropriately labels welfare state nationalism. But such welfare state nationalism has greatly articulated itself in the midst of citizens’ growing dissatisfaction with hierarchical and vertical forms of ‘command-andcontrol’ social policy making and with the centralization of powers at the level of the national state. This book is nonetheless a model of academic excellence in cross-national comparative research, and will be welcomed by experts and students of nationalism, welfare state scholars and all those interested in the balance between universality and territorial diversity in citizenship rights.
TL;DR: In this paper, Pontusson distinguishes between social and liberal market economies and shows that the economic and social performance of social market economies has differed only little since the 1970s, except for job creation and income equality.
Abstract: Jonas Pontusson’s book is a critical assessment of the ‘economic orthodoxy of our times’ (p. 4). The ‘market-liberal view’ posits a trade-off between efficiency and equality. Governments may establish a redistributive welfare state to alleviate poverty, but this comes at the price of market distortions which lead to slower growth, more unemployment and less job creation. Even worse, according to this view, redistributive policies mostly hurt the people they are supposed to help: the poor. But is there really, Pontusson asks, a trade-off between efficiency and equality? Although the book contains some original analysis, and particularly interesting data on inequality, it is mainly a survey of the existing literature on varieties of capitalism and employment-friendly welfare states and labour markets. Pontusson’s empirical analysis is restricted to a very thoughtful treatment of indicators, numerous bivariate scatter-plots (36!) and some simple multivariate regression models. As an analytical approach, Pontusson distinguishes between social and liberal market economies. Three core features characterize social market economies (SMEs): (a) business coordination; (b) strong trade unions and institutionalized collective bargaining systems; as well as (c) extensive public provision of social welfare and employment protection. The SME group encompasses the Northern European democracies – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – on the one hand, and the Continental European democracies – Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland – on the other hand. Pontusson classifies the English-speaking democracies – Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States – as liberal market economies, which leaves France, Italy and Japan as a residual group. It is important to note that Pontusson’s classification is not identical with the standard classification of Hall and Soskice (2001), since he does not consider Japan a social market economy (p. 18). By providing various indicators, Pontusson shows that the economic and social performance of social and liberal market economies has differed only little since the 1970s, except for job creation and income equality. Pontusson then explores income distribution and its determinants. In my view, this is the most convincing part of his book. Using data from a collaborative project with Lane Kenworthy, Pontusson shows that gross wage equality has increased more than disposable income inequality. This suggests that welfare states, especially in social market economies, have been successful in offsetting the inegalitarian labour market trends. However, Pontusson shows that this discrepancy is also due to changes in employment structure. ‘Low-income households in the Netherlands and, to a lesser extent, in the United States and some of the other liberal market economies appear to have compensated themselves for falling relative wages by increasing their employment’ (p. 54). Turning to employment, Pontusson detects four obstacles to job creation. Part of the employment gap can be explained by too restrictive macro-economic policies in the social market economies. The other part is attributable to payroll taxes, employment protection and pay equality. However, Pontusson considers pay equality to be more important than pay-roll taxes and employment protection. Therefore, he recommends that policymakers in social market economies shift payroll taxes to income taxes and decrease the level of employment protection. Despite his very careful analysis, I see four problems. Pontusson’s definition and classification of social market economies is not identical to Hall and Soskice’s coordinated market economies, adding a new definition to an already crowded field. But his ‘adjustments’ are not justified properly. Why does he drop Japan but not Switzerland? Why is France not among the Continental social market economies? Furthermore, Pontusson ends up with a residual group of France, Italy and Japan. Where do they belong? His treatment of influential cases is also questionable. For example, plotting social spending against employment growth, Pontusson observes a negative relationship (p. 174). Deleting the ‘major outlier’ Japan the negative correlation grows even stronger. However, Ireland is even more of an outlier and its deletion would render the correlation weaker; but Pontusson does not discuss this possibility. Analysing employment growth without controlling for employment levels is problematic. The Scandinavian countries and Switzerland already had above-average levels of employment in the 1980s. Furthermore, the Netherlands experienced above-average employment growth while Finland (collapse of the Soviet Union) and Germany (unification) were hit by economic crises which were unrelated to their labour market institutions and welfare states. Thus, Pontusson’s argument rests on Austria and, principally, Belgium. Finally, the book offers an extensive review of the literature. However, for his policy recommendations Pontusson relies mainly on the work of Lane Kenworthy, thereby ignoring different opinions. For example, concluding their influ-
TL;DR: Chan and Bowpitt as discussed by the authors developed a definition of human dignity, applied the definition to a comparative analysis of the treatment of unemployed people in four countries, and then used this assessment to put forward an alternative typology of welfare states.
Abstract: This book represents an attempt to develop a definition of human dignity, apply the definition to a comparative analysis of the treatment of unemployed people in four countries, and then use this assessment to put forward an alternative typology of welfare states. Human dignity is an increasingly important concept in social policy debates, so it is important to clarify what is meant by it. Chan and Bowpitt develop their own definition by trawling the writings of an eclectic mix of psychologists, philosophers, religious writers and others. The seven essential elements retrieved from this exploration are physical well-being, psychological well-being, the ability to fulfil caring duties (being able to meet your children’s needs), social integration, human learning/development, self-determination and equal value. The authors’ empirical focus is on unemployed people, whose economic weakness makes them a crucial test of whether a welfare system truly strives to promote human dignity. Chan and Bowpitt are also interested in what they call ‘workfare’, though ‘activation’ may be the more appropriate term. They justify their choice of the four countries examined in relation to the recent economic pressures in two (Hong Kong and Sweden), and the nature of the welfare systems in the other two – China’s being a socialist market welfare state and the UK’s being work-oriented. The way in which unemployed people are treated within each of these welfare states is comprehensively analysed. The countries are then compared under each element of human dignity. Particularly relevant features include the level of benefits, the nature of conditionality and the degree of professionalism of employment services staff. The authors also examine how unemployed people are treated by officials, their public image and their opportunities to influence policy. The focus on these aspects is welcome, as it takes us into the politics of ‘recognition’ as well as ‘redistribution’. There is no investigation, however, of whether means-tested benefits as opposed to non-means-tested benefits, or dependence on another person rather than on the state, may have a different impact on human dignity. And the personalization of employment services is seen as a goal to strive for, without real reflection on the increased scope for discretion, and possibly discrimination, this entails. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sweden emerges as the country that best preserves the dignity of unemployed people, although the authors argue that some aspects still need to be worked on even there. Sweden’s advantages over the UK include the more generous level of benefits and the professional training of the staff who deal with unemployed people. The analysis sees collective welfare provision, political participation and control over one’s own life, as well as clear national objectives and well-planned intervention, as key factors associated with achieving greater human dignity. Finally, the authors propose a new typology of welfare states based on human dignity. While this is an original exercise, it is inevitably limited largely to the treatment of unemployed people in benefits and employment services. Despite its symbolic nature, this does seem a rather narrow base on which to build an alternative typology. The discussion could usefully be linked to wider topical debates about conditionality’ which often put more weight on the nature of the jobs and labour market into which unemployed people are being ‘activated’ in assessing the quality of the quid pro quo with which they are presented. And the voices of unemployed people themselves could be integrated more with such an analysis. This book nonetheless provides a brave starting point, and a clear impetus, for further exploration of a significant concept.