Suchergebnisse

Part I Introduction -- 1 External Actors and Social Protection in the Global South: An Overview, Carina Schmitt -- 2 Advancing Transnational Approaches to Social Protection in the Global South, Amanda Shriwise -- Part II The Influence of the Colonial Legacy and Cold War on Social Protection -- 3 Cold War and Social Protection in Burma and Malaysia, Michele Mioni and Klaus Petersen -- 4 The Influence of Colonialism and Donors on Social Policies in Kenya and Tanzania,Daniel Künzler -- 5 The Effects of Colonialism on Social Protection in South Africa and Botswana, Jeremy Seekings -- 6 The Colonial Legacy and the Rise of Social Assistance in the Global South, Carina Schmitt -- 7 Colonial Legacies in International Aid: Policy Priorities and Actor Constellations, Bastian Becker -- Part III The Influence of Donors on Social Protection -- 8 International Donors and Social Policy Diffusion in the Global South, Marina Dodlova -- 9 The World Bank and the Contentious Politics of Global Social Spending, Rahmi Çemen and Erdem Yörük -- 10 The Limits of the Influence of International Donors: Social Protection in Botswana, Isaac Chinyoka and Marianne S. Ulriksen -- 11 External Donors and Social Protection in Africa: A Case Study of Zimbabwe, Stephen Devereux and Samuel Kapingidza -- Part IV Critical Reflections and Conclusion -- 12 Transnational Actors and the Diffusion of Social Policies: An Ideational Approach, Privilege Haang'andu and Daniel Béland -- 13 Transnational Actors and Institutionalization of Social Protection in the Global South, Armando Barrientos -- 14 Critical Assessment and Outlook, Carina Schmitt, Bastian Becker, Judith M. Ebeling, and Amanda Shriwise.

This open access volume addresses the role of external actors in social protection in the Global South, from the Second World War until today, analysing the influence of colonial powers, superpowers during the Cold War and contemporary donor agencies. Following an introduction to the analysis of external actors in social policy making in the Global South, the contributions explore which external actors were dominant in the decades after World War II, and how they shaped early and contemporary social protection making in developing countries. The latter half of the collection elucidates important players in the contemporary transnational social policy arena, such as donor organizations and international organizations, and critically evaluates the potential for and limits of the explanatory power of external actors in social protection making in the Global South, considering the relative contribution of external and domestic influences. By examining how transnational relationships and external actors have influenced the formation, development and transformation of social policies in the developing world, this collection will be an invaluable resource for scholars interested in social protection in the Global South from a range of disciplines. These include political science, social policy, and sociology, as well as historians of the welfare state, international relations scholars and scholars working on global and transnational social policy and development policy.

For many years, comparative welfare state research has been afflicted with a sort of methodological nationalism in the sense that countries were treated as independent units. In line with the recent "spatial turn" in comparative public policy studies, this paper examines with regard to three welfare state programmes whether, in the postwar period, the provision of social rights in 18 Western democracies was shaped by benefit generosity in other countries. We show that diffusion is present but varies by programme and over time. Rather surprisingly, we find that policy diffusion was particularly relevant during the Golden Age.

This working paper examines the question whether the privatization of network based utilities results from policy diffusion across the OECD world, and if so which diffusion mechanisms have been relevant. Therefore, a completely new panel data set on privatization in the telecommunication sector is introduced which offers a unique opportunity for a broad-based international comparison. The sample includes 18 OECD countries between 1980 and 2007. In order to analyze the hypotheses empirically, spatial econometric techniques are used. The paper shows that governments do not implement privatization policies independently of each other. Second, the relevant spatial interdependencies are determined by geographical proximity and economic relationships. Countries clearly tend to privatize when trading partners or countries that are geographically close to them do so. Third, there is no evidence that governments adopt policies of countries with similar cultural backgrounds or simply where privatization leads to the intended outcomes at the company level. Fourth, the diffusion of privatization policy is highly influenced by the openness of the economy. Open economies are more receptive to diffusion mechanisms than economies that are only moderately involved in the international market.

In the post war period, telecommunications – being services of "general economic interest" – were initially managed by public administrative bodies in many Western European countries. With the rise of New Public Management (NPM) in the 1980s, these bodies were often transformed into public corporations or joint stock companies. Following corporatisation, the provision and the management of these services of general economic interest was gradually transferred to private actors. This paper analyses whether privatisation, as part of NPM reforms, has benefited the consumer. We have, therefore, compiled data on privatisation in the telecommunication sector for 15 European countries from 1980 to 2006. The data set covers the corporatisation process, as well as the transfer of the service provision to the private sector. Three empirical findings stand out: first, the reform processes have differed widely from each other. Second, it's not just the transfer of ownership to the private sector that has ensured efficiency gains and increased consumer benefits; corporatisation has done this as well. Third, efficiency gains have been transferred to the consumer, especially at the beginning of the reform process.

The effect of warfare on welfare state development in Western democracies has been a matter of growing interest among scholars. The question of how mass warfare influenced social reforms in former colonies on the other hand, has been completely neglected. This is astounding, considering the fact that most European colonial powers relied on colonial troops to maintain the colonial order, to conquer new territories, and to repress struggles for independence and colonial revolts. This contribution addresses the role of the military, warfare, and conscription for the provision of social protection in former French African colonies, particularly in French West Africa from the beginning of the 20th century until shortly after World War II. French African colonies are most likely cases to exhibit such an effect, as no other imperial power militarized its colonial societies to the extent France did. The results show that World War I and the introduction of mass conscription did not lead to any systematic handling of social issues in French West Africa. However, the militarization and the experience of the First World War formed soldiers and veterans as a societal group that started to demand social rights. This development paved the way for later social changes and major reforms in the course of World War II such as the introduction of uniform pensions for soldiers throughout the Empire and the expansion of education and health services.

The effect of warfare on welfare state development in Western democracies has been a matter of growing interest among scholars. The question of how mass warfare influenced social reforms in former colonies on the other hand, has been completely neglected. This is astounding, considering the fact that most European colonial powers relied on colonial troops to maintain the colonial order, to conquer new territories, and to repress struggles for independence and colonial revolts. This contribution addresses the role of the military, warfare, and conscription for the provision of social protection in former French African colonies, particularly in French West Africa from the beginning of the 20th century until shortly after World War II. French African colonies are most likely cases to exhibit such an effect, as no other imperial power militarized its colonial societies to the extent France did. The results show that World War I and the introduction of mass conscription did not lead to any systematic handling of social issues in French West Africa. However, the militarization and the experience of the First World War formed soldiers and veterans as a societal group that started to demand social rights. This development paved the way for later social changes and major reforms in the course of World War II such as the introduction of uniform pensions for soldiers throughout the Empire and the expansion of education and health services.

About 73% of the global population is not, or is only partly, covered by social protection. Particularly across low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), social protection coverage is highly heterogeneous. What explains the large differences in the inclusiveness of social protection across LMICs? By analysing 100 LMICs using retirement schemes as an example, this study shows that non‐contributory schemes in LMICs are, by far, more inclusive than contributory ones. Surprisingly, democratic institutions characterised by low levels of political corruption only promote the inclusiveness of non‐contributory social protection while reducing the coverage of contributory schemes.

Privatization has spread around the globe. While a number of studies find empirical evidence for the diffusion of privatization, it remains unclear what the relevant linkages between states are. This article analyses whether it is economic competition or political affinity that influences the diffusion of privatizing public utilities. The sample includes telecommunications, postal, and railway providers as the main network‐based utilities operating at the national level in 15 European countries from 1980 until 2007. The results of the spatial regressions clearly show that governments follow each other for economic reasons. Trading partners strategically interact when privatizing their national public‐utility providers to form strategic cross‐border company alliances and to avoid competitive disadvantages in the global market. This applies particularly to economies that are highly integrated in the international market. Surprisingly, political and ideological similarities do not seem to matter for the diffusion of privatization.