Social Policy in Denmark

Abstract

Danish social policy is typically discussed within the framework of the Danish welfare state model, generally considered one of the most comprehensive social security systems in the world. The Danish welfare state model is the result of more than one hundred years of historical development. While the Danish social policy traditions date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some core policy principles have remained stable over time. Denmark is considered part of the family of Nordic welfare states. The main characteristics of the Danish welfare model are universalism in the form of comprehensive national schemes that include all citizens regardless of income; an emphasis on both income transfers and welfare services; comparatively generous benefits in amount and duration; a strong reliance on tax financing; and high levels of redistribution. However, within the general system of the Danish welfare state as it is actually implemented, a more complex mixture of specific social policy programs has evolved. Three factors explain this complex development. First, even though core principles have a long history, from the 1960s Denmark has witnessed a massive social policy expansion, making it stand out with respect to social spending levels, program adoption, generosity, and redistribution. It was especially in the area of family policies and welfare services that the Danish welfare system expanded dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s. Second, this major expansion of the Danish welfare state was an incremental process rather than an implementation of a systematic master plan. Hence, specific social policies and programs often deviate from the ideal of tax-based social rights by also including elements of voluntarism or insurance, user fees, or degrees of targeting. Ostensibly, universal social policy programs continually defined and refined the group(s) of people covered (typically based on citizenship and/or residency); access criteria (e.g., age); and the methods used to determine specific benefits (e.g., differentiation between family providers and nonproviders). The third factor behind the complex nature of the Danish welfare system is that ideals and reality does not always mesh. Overall, Danish social policies fare well in an international comparison in terms of social security and social services. However, as pointed out by several of the entries in the list below, Danish social policies were and are not perfect. Marginalization, problems of coordination, lack of funding and staff resources, and neglected social problems are all part of the story. Especially since the 1980s, the combined effects of marketization, globalization, and concerns for the long-term financial sustainability of the Danish welfare state have placed additional pressure on the ideals often associated with the Danish model. The Danish welfare state has always included a mix of public and private measure but in recent decades the “public-private mix” has moved toward favoring private actors and individualized responsibility. The following selection of literature on Danish social policy includes both English and Danish language publications; priority has been given to the literature published in English.