Suchergebnisse

The Nordic countries have been able to raise living standards and curb inequalities without compromising economic growth. But with social inequalities on the rise how do they fare when compared to countries with alternative welfare models? Taking a comparative perspective, this book casts new light on the changing inequalities in Europe

The Nordic countries have been able to raise living standards and curb inequalities without compromising economic growth. But with social inequalities on the rise how do they fare when compared to countries with alternative welfare models? Taking a comparative perspective, this book casts new light on the changing inequalities in Europe.

The fight against poverty and social exclusion is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. With more than 120 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion, EU leaders have pledged to bring at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020. In the aftermath of the crisis welfare states are called to address multi-level social risks while securing their financial sustainability. This Review presents evidence from Framework Programme research projects with a view to address the challenges of poverty and social exclusion. It puts forward policy recommendations that put the emphasis on social investment and protection and pave the way for upward convergence in employment and social issues

Ideal types and fuzzy sets -Exemplified by Nordic family policy in the 1990s

Fuzzy-set theory is a new method for the social sciences. It allows for a precise operationalisation of theoretical concepts, the configuration of concepts into analytical constructs such as idealtypes, and the categorisation of cases. In a Weberian sense ideal types are analytical constructs used as yardsticks to measure the similarity and difference between concrete phenomena. Ideal type analysis involves differentiation of categories and degrees of membership of such categories. In social science jargon, this means analysis involving the evaluation of qualitative and quantitative differences or, in brief, of diversity. Fuzzy set theory is useful for ideal type analysis as it combines the study of qualitative and quantitative differentiation in a single instrument. It allows the measurement and computation of theoretical concepts and analytical constructs in a manner that is true to their original formulation and meaning. This paper sets out elements and principles of fuzzy-set theory that are useful for ideal type analysis and presents an illustrative example of how it can be used in comparative studies. The example concerns changing Nordic family policies in the 1990s in relation to their conformity to the ideal typical Social Democratic family policy model characterised by generous family allowances coupled with universal child care of a high quality. All Nordic countries expanded the universality of childcare, but its quality remained only fairly good, when measured by number of children, staff, which was 4.7 in 1993 in Denmark. Generosity was increased in Denmark, but reduced in Sweden and Finland. As a result of numerous changes, the most traditional country, Norway, got more in line with the other Nordic countries and Sweden lost its role as the examplar country of Social Democratic family policy. However, none of the countries experienced a qualitative shift in family policy towards a Conservative or Liberal model of family policy. The analysis demonstrates how fuzzy-set theory allows for fine-grained assesments, and is particularly well-suited to the analysis of diversity for a medium number of cases.

This article examines whether Eastern enlargement has led the EU 15 member states to enter strategic interactions implying a race to the bottom. The question is whether concerns about welfare migration have led to downward pressure on the EU 15 member states in the form of more restrictive access to their labour markets and adjustments of their social policy benefits. We find little empirical evidence to support the asumption that welfare states with generous benefits and accessible labour markets will become magnets for welfare migration. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates that the EU 15 member states do enter strategic interactions as if such migration would occur. The majority of them have temporarily restricted the free movement of workers from the acceding countries. EU 15 member states with the least restrictions are the ones most active in adjusting their social policies. Strategic interactions in social policy may thus intensify in the future as transitional periods come to an end and future enlargements come into place.

Résumé La Suède incarne traditionnellement le modèle social scandinave, en particulier parce qu'elle a réussi à maintenir le chômage et les inégalités sur marché du travail à un niveau bas, tout en garantissant protection sociale et croissance économique. Par contraste, le Danemark et la Finlande ont été considérés comme les pays scandinaves à la traîne dans le domaine social, surtout en raison de leurs politiques de l'emploi rudimentaires. Or, depuis les années quatre-vingt-dix, ce n'est plus le cas. En fait, les rôles se sont inversés. Le Danemark et la Finlande ont été les plus innovants en remaniant la stratégie scandinave d'activation par le biais d'une série de changements fondamentaux en matière d'assurance chômage et de politique active de l'emploi. La Suède les a suivis en 2001. Cet article vise à analyser ces changements qui n'ont pas été abordés de manière adéquate par la littérature académique comparée spécialisée dans les questions sociales. Il montre comment cette nouvelle stratégie scandinave est fondamentalement différente de celle qui a prévalu au début des années quatre-vingt-dix, y compris en Suède. Aujourd'hui, les droits sociaux à une compensation économique sont complétés par des droits à la participation économique, et les obligations, pour les chômeurs, de s'efforcer de devenir autonomes ont été sensiblement renforcées. Les politiques actives de l'emploi ne visent plus avant tout à donner aux chômeurs de nouveaux droits à des prestations, mais plutôt à les aider à trouver du travail. En conséquence, la nature de la citoyenneté sociale a évolué : la participation est devenue essentielle, précisément parce que le modèle social scandinave présente un degré plus élevé de remarchandisation, alors qu'auparavant, la démarchandisation était centrale. Cette transformation de l'État providence scandinave a aidé à surmonter quelques-unes des pressions sociales qui sont à l'origine de plus grandes inégalités, tout en maintenant une bonne protection sociale et sans porter atteinte à la croissance économique.

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 countries have both expanded and contracted welfare programmes. Resilience at the national level thus masks a differential development between welfare areas and within welfare programmes. Tentatively, it seems that welfare policies operate within upper and lower limits which in turn are likely to vary over long time periods and among different types of welfare states; the most generous programmes are liable to cut-backs and the least generous programmes to improvements.