Eroding minimum income protection in the Nordic countries? Reassessing the Nordic model of social assistance
In: Changing Social Equality, S. 69-88
In: Changing Social Equality, S. 69-88
In: Journal of European social policy, Band 13, Heft 1, S. 21-33
ISSN: 0958-9287
In: Journal of European social policy, Band 13, Heft 1, S. 21-33
ISSN: 1461-7269
Welfare state regimes vary in their strategies of redistribution. Some welfare states have extensive taxable social insurance schemes, while others rely more on non-taxable means-tested benefits. In order to assess the distributive effects of different programme types, it is necessary to analyse social insurance after taxes, something rarely practised in comparative research. In this paper, we evaluate distributive effects of social insurance after taking taxes into account in 10 welfare states. The main question is to what extent income taxes affect the contribution of social insurance to income inequality. The conclusion is that taxation may have important consequences for both inter- and intra-country comparisons of income redistribution, especially if countries with similar social policy systems are compared. The analyses are based on micro-level income data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS).
In: Changing social equality, S. 69-88
In: Working Papers, 2010:11
World Affairs Online
In: European Sociological Review, Band 39, Heft 1, S. 104-117
Housing benefits differ substantially across countries. In this paper, we apply power resource theory, developed primarily in relation to the emergence and subsequent expansion of social citizenship, to housing policy. The purpose is to analyse the political determinants of housing benefits, and particularly the role of left parties and the partisan mobilization of labour. The empirical analyses are based on new housing benefit data for 31 affluent democracies from the period 2001-2018. The results of a series of fixed effects pooled time-series regressions show that the strength of left government is positively associated with the size of housing benefits. However, the positive influence of left cabinets is conditional on the relative size of rental housing and the fractionalization of the party system. Our findings highlight the need to combine actor-oriented explanations of the welfare state with theories about the corporatist power structures of society.
This groundbreaking book brings together perspectives from political philosophy and comparative social policy to discuss generational justice. Contributing new insights about the preconditions for designing sustainable, inclusive policies for all of society, the authors expose the possibilities of supporting egalitarian principles in an aging society through balanced generational welfare contracts.
BASE
In: Journal of European public policy, Band 20, Heft 9, S. 1251-1266
ISSN: 1466-4429
In: Journal of European public policy, Band 20, Heft 9, S. 1251-1266
ISSN: 1350-1763
The Social Policy Indicators (SPIN) database provides the foundations for new comparative and longitudinal research on the causes behind, and the consequences of, welfare states and social citizenship rights. The SPIN database is oriented towards analyses of institutions as manifested in social policy legislation. To date, SPIN covers 40 countries, of which several have data on core social policy programmes from 1930. There are currently six data modules in SPIN, covering different social policy areas. The following research note describes the theoretical and conceptual basis of the SPIN project, as well as the data it contains.
BASE
In: Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries, S. 641-665
The purpose of this deliverable is to report on the development of a new framework for collecting good quality institutional comparative data on public services, using Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), and primary and secondary education as pilot areas. Whereas comparative welfare state research has to an important extent focused on the income redistribution function of the welfare state (i.e. taxes and cash benefits), the public services dimension remains under-examined. This is true both in the area of Early Childhood Education and Care, as well as in the area of the affordability of compulsory (primary + secondary) education. As the literature reviews in the respective areas have demonstrated, both areas have been studied extensively, but indicators that are suitable for country-comparative research are available only to a limited extent. For both policy areas, new data were collected through a network of national policy experts. Taking together the policy indicators collected and the evidence reported regarding ECEC and compulsory education, this deliverable demonstrates the importance of a sustainable data infrastructure to collect policy indicators on these policy areas specifically, and public services in general. Institutional indicators that seek to codify the social rights as they are encoded in policies (and legislation) are important to understand the living conditions of Europeans, and complementary to existing data that are often survey-based. Expert networks are an effective method to collect such data.
BASE
In: Journal of European public policy, Band 20, Heft 9, S. 1229-1298
ISSN: 1350-1763
World Affairs Online