Conclusion: analyses in the mixed economy of welfare and the social division of welfare

Abstract

The title of this chapter is derived from the pioneering account of Sinfield (1978). While ‘analyses’ may promise a little too much, this concluding chapter aims to reinforce the importance of the mixed economy of welfare (MEW) and the social division of welfare (SDW). Drawing on the material from earlier chapters, it examines the importance of the MEW and SDW over time and space. The MEW and SDW are important in an analytical as well as a descriptive sense. It is important to examine changes in the complex three-dimensional space of provision, finance and regulation rather than focusing on simple and misleading changes in one dimension such as provision. It then examines how the MEW and SDW are linked to important debates in social policy, and how they are associated with complex differential impacts on service users. The MEW and SDW are vital, but relatively neglected, concepts in social policy. Mayo (1994, p 26) writes that ‘the MEW has been fundamental to the welfare state in Britain, although the mix has clearly varied between services and over time, just as the mix varies between Britain and the USA, for instance’. John Stewart (Chapter Two) draws attention to the historical importance of the MEW. While many authors claim that the mix changes over time, he points out that the components of the MEW themselves change over time. For example, the ‘voluntary sector’ in the 19th century was not the same as the ‘voluntary sector’ today. Nevertheless, the different components of the MEW in the UK follow a fairly broad trend – or ‘moving frontier’ – over time.