Active Welfare State Research Articles

Economic and Social Potential of Family-supporting Services, Limits and Challenges

Due to the increase of the economic pressure on households, it is increasingly more difficult to balance family life and economic activity. Reasons for this evolution can be the increased labour market participation of women, the ageing of the population to name a few. Within the EU, different systems to offer assistance in creating a balanced social and economically active life have been established in numerous countries. However, the aims, results and general scope of these national policies differ.The main focus of this paper will be the Belgian situation, i.e. the voucher system (services cheques). Starting with a general view of the reasons of existence of family-support services, followed by the different support services policies offered in various European countries, the Belgian situation will be discussed.The voucher system in Belgium has encountered an explosive boom which brings unexpected results and side effects. These affect the country’s social economical system. The paper discusses the evolution of the system. What are the reasons for the unexpected success? What are the economic and social consequences for a modern active welfare state, can growth be limitless? The paper will attempt to provide answers on these questions raised.

Disembodied abilities: Sick role and participation in ‘activating’ return-to-work practices

In ‘active welfare states’, labour participation is regarded essential for being part of and contributing to society. In the striving for an increase in labour participation of people who were considered (partly) disabled for work, not ‘disabilities’, but ‘abilities’ are put centre stage in vocational rehabilitation programmes. In this article we explore what this change in focus means in practice. We do this by investigating tensions experienced by participants of vocational rehabilitation practices that aim at facilitating return-to-work for people with disabilities. Our analysis derives from stories that clients and professionals told about daily experiences with disability, vocational rehabilitation and (labour) participation. These stories illustrate the logic embedded in vocational rehabilitation practices. Our analysis demonstrates that this logic, that focuses on will power, stable abilities and employability, hampers the realization of labour participation for a part of the population. We conclude that a logic of embodiment in which lived experiences of clients are acknowledged and in which it is explored what clients are concretely able to do in a specific context may be better equipped to facilitate return-to-work.

Integration through activation?

This paper addresses the question of how the activating welfare state carries out the paradoxical agenda of “help for self-help” in practice. Applying Niklas Luhmann’s concept of “inclusion” to local strategies of activating, i.e. “integrating” migrants in Munich, Germany, I articulate the following: the activation of individuals is fundamentally an excessive task for social intervention. Inevitably, it encounters a considerable amount of uncertainty, which is not controllable by social or external measures. Attempts to eliminate all uncontrollable elements are empirically unattainable, whether imposing coercive punishment or making use of an entire engagement of volunteers. To the contrary, social systems depend on whether they can develop mechanisms to maintain room for uncontrollability in their communication. Social workers play a mediating role in this constellation by enhancing the sensitivity of organizations, thus opening them up for multiple inclusions instead of a unified, normative integration.

Decentralising the Active Welfare State: The Relevance of Intergovernmental Structures in Italy and Spain

AbstractThis article contributes to the literatures on the governance of activation and the territorial structure of the welfare state by drawing attention to the institutional designs of active welfare states and the architectures of decentralisation, as well as to their manifestations and implications. With the end of capturing dissimilar intergovernmental models of activation, this paper develops a framework of ‘centre–regional’ relations, which we apply to the cases of Italy and Spain – two countries that have devolved active labour market policy powers to their regions but have organised power-sharing structures very differently. The findings suggest that when it comes to active welfare states, horizontal arrangements are linked to salient institutional variations across the territory. By contrast, hierarchical structures, which are characterised by a dominant role of central level governments, are linked to higher levels of cohesion. These findings are relevant as they expose the manifestations and implications of distinct decentralisation models on activation regimes, welfare states, as well as on welfare clients.

Social Capital in a Nordic Context

Europe and the European Union are today swept by an economic and social crisis. The EU is looking for a solution to the crisis, and intends to make worse thing better through state actions and renewed endogenous development, both inside countries and across national borders. Nordic countries are only slightly touched by this crisis. How do Nordic states conduct policies of crisis prevention? How do the interventionist and expensive Nordic welfare states survive in the global age, with demanding and ever changing claims to international competitiveness? The answers seem to be found in their active welfare state and labor marked policy.

Response to “Should People with Unhealthy Lifestyles Pay Higher Health Insurance Premiums?”

This thesis has two aims. The first aim is to set out an argument for social insurance in the form of compulsory income insurance in the event of sickness or unemployment, and to explore two lines of arguments for social insurance policies that are commonly associated with an active welfare state that seeks to prevent or reduce reliance on social insurance. The second aim is to outline and defend an account of legitimacy that takes moral autonomy seriously by making legitimacy partly dependent on our entrenched values and preferences.The first aim is relevant for articles I-VI. In article I it is argued that the extent to which behavioural responses to social insurance is seen as ethically problematic, it is primarily a problem that concerns the institution rather than the morality of the individual whose behaviour is influenced by social insurance. Thus, insofar as behavioural responses to social insurance are an ethical problem, it is a problem for political philosophy rather than individual ethics. In article II an argument for social insurance in the form of compulsory income insurance in the event of sickness or unemployment is presented, viz. the argument from autonomy. It is based on a concern for the protection of our identity according to what is called a “thick” conception of the person, which holds that our identities as separate persons are constituted by our central aims and commitments. It is also argued that contrary to what has been claimed by its opponents; social insurance needs not lead to the bad risks exploiting the good risks, or be head-on in conflict with individual freedom. Article III identifies normative issues that deserve attention in relation to in relation to a general introduction of prevention policies in social insurance and market insurance. It is argued that the importance of these issues suggests that arguments and distinctions drawn from moral and political philosophy should play a more prominent role both in the debate on the shift towards an active welfare state and the use of prevention policies in market insurance. Article IV is a response to comments from Professor David Buchanan initiated by article III. Article V explores what is called the argument from autonomy for reduced compensation rates in social insurance or making compensation from such insurance conditional on different kinds of requirements such as participation in rehabilitation or vocational training. It is argued that such policies are justified if they tend to ensure an adequate level of autonomy, where autonomy is understood in the sense of a “thick” conception of personal autonomy based on Norman Daniel’s extension of the principle of fair equality of opportunity. Article VI discusses the objection that arguments pertaining to the principle of fairness often are irrelevant since the principle of fairness is based on the acceptance of the relevant benefits. It is argued that this objection from non-acceptance fails because we can – and do – accept the benefits form such institutions on a practical level and this is enough to ground obligations pertaining fairness. The implications of this argument for policies associated with the active welfare state are explored, taking a reform of the Swedish sickness insurance as an example.The second aim is relevant for article VII. In article VII it is argued that an account of legitimacy should satisfy three conditions. The justification thesis and the legitimacy thesis are presented as accounts of justification and legitimacy respectively. It is argued that the proposed accounts satisfy these conditions. An account of political obligations is also given.

Insurance and Prevention: Ethical Aspects

In recent decades, prevention policies--i.e., insurance policies constructed to give incentives to investments in prevention and thereby reduce reliance on insurance--have been much discussed both with regard to different kinds of market insurance and, albeit primarily within a European context and in relation to an ongoing discussion about the need for a shift towards an "active" welfare state, with regard to social insurance. The present contribution identifies normative issues that deserve attention in relation to a general introduction of prevention policies in market insurance and social insurance. It is argued that the importance of these normative issues suggests that arguments and distinctions drawn from moral and political philosophy should play a more prominent role both in the debate on the shift towards an active welfare state and the use of prevention policies in market insurance.

Professionals without a profession? Redesigning case management in Dutch local welfare agencies

This article explores the new roles of frontline workers in Dutch local welfare agencies against the background of recent active welfare state reforms, with a specific focus on frontline workers involved in activating social assistance recipients. The results presented in the article come from case studies in four local welfare agencies. The article investigates how active welfare state reforms have influenced the room for discretion of frontline workers, how discretion is managed in local welfare agencies, and how frontline workers cope with discretion. The article argues that the discretion of activation by frontline workers has increased significantly. The research results show a clear though not unambiguous shift from a bureaucratic towards a more professional treatment of frontline workers, combined with attempts to introduce a more performance oriented style of management. However, given the low level of institutionalisation of the profession of activation work, activation frontline workers still seem to be professionals without a profession. This not only makes activation work a rather individual project, it also entails risks for clients for whom activation services may become unpredictable and lacking in transparency.

Bildungs- und Sozialpolitik: Die zwei Seiten des Sozialstaats im internationalen Vergleich

SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 105 - 119

Back to Work after Incapacity Benefit: Differences between Ethnic Minority and Native Dutch Workers

Abstract Contemporary pleas for an activating welfare state and social security system emphasize that getting benefit claimants back to work is more important than providing income compensation for social risks connected with unemployment or illness. The Dutch system of incapacity benefits, however, is far removed from this normative ideal of a proactive social security system. Resumption of work after a spell of incapacity benefit is the exception rather than the rule. This article examines possible ethnic differences in resumption of work following incapacity benefit. We use a unique register data file from Statistics Netherlands that contains information about all incapacity benefit claimants in the Netherlands in 1999. In the analysis we follow these benefit claimants for three years and examine what their labour market position was in 2002. We find that resumption of work after incapacity benefit is even more the exception for migrant workers with a Turkish or Moroccan ethnic background. Contrary to our assumption, this difference from native Dutch workers cannot be explained by unfavourable personal characteristics of Turkish or Moroccan benefit claimants – their personal characteristics (gender, age, low educational level) appear to be rather favourable for resumption of work. In the current literature, these differences in outcomes between ethnic groups are often attributed to certain ‘ethnic‐specific’ or cultural factors. This article argues that we should be careful of explaining different outcomes between ethnic groups by (alleged) cultural phenomena. There are other explanations possible such as differences in work motivation, lack of ‘transition facilities’ in companies and differential treatment by employers or social security officials.

The active welfare state

This article briefly presents an overview of the evolution of both the social security and Welfare State's concepts, in order to thoroughly examine the relationsbetween social security and rights to labor and to a freely chosen occupation. Some cases are then presented, to better show the importance of such rights for the new configuration of social security: the Active Welfare State.

Individualised service provision in an era of activation and new governance

PurposeThis article aims to discuss the individualisation trend in the provision of social services, focusing on activation services specifically.Design/methodology/approachThe individualisation trend in the provision of activation services is analysed against the background of public sector as well as social sector as well as social policy reforms: the introduction of new modes of governance and the rise of the active welfare state respectively.FindingsConcrete manifestations of individualised service provision are often based on various interpretations of individualisation and reflect different meanings of citizens’ participation, and refer to different modes – or rather, mixes of different modes – of governance. The general argument of the article is illustrated and elaborated by analysing three national case studies of individualised service provision in the context of activation: the UK, The Netherlands and Finland.Originality/valueThe trend that is analysed in the article – individualised service provision – is very clearly present in welfare state reforms, but has thus far not received much attention in academic literature.

“What are your plans?” The socio-occupational integration of Brussels’ welfare offices’ clients

Isabelle Lacourt describes and analyses close up the socio-occupational integration (SOI) work done in several welfare offices (CPAS-OCMWs) in the Brussels-Capital Region. In so doing, she pays particular attention to the schemes that have been set up and the tools and methods that are specific to these offices. She starts by reviewing the history of these welfare offices within local administrations and points out the linkage with the “active welfare state” benchmark. She then shows the concrete impacts that the rising importance of these SOI duties has had on the welfare offices’ internal organisation, to wit, the creation of SOI departments, their connections with basic social services, the ways they function, the specific difficulties inherent in SOI, the need to draw up a plan with each client, and the long-term relationships to which this leads.

Active labour market policy and the reduction of poverty in the ‘new’ Scotland

Throughout Europe there is a view that social policy objectives can and should be achieved via the route of increased work participation. This is often fuelled by government assumptions that simultaneous progress on the employment and poverty front can be achieved. Employment activation and poverty reduction are central to the so-called active welfare state that lies at the heart of New Labour policies. In this article the relationship between devolution (another of New Labour's central policies) and active labour market policies is analysed. In particular a discussion of the decentralization of powers relating to employment is undertaken alongside an assessment of whether the ‘social policy’ focus of the devolved Scotland results in an effective integration of employment and poverty reduction policies.

Towards the roots of social welfare

As the Inquisition unfolded in Spain, the humanist Joan Lluis Vives left Valencia for Paris, and probably settled in Bruges as early as 1512. He travelled Europe and frequented elite intellectual and political circles in France, England and Belgium. It was in Bruges that in 1525 he started writing his De subventione pauperum, to be published there in 1526. This would become the intellectual and ethical basis of European urban poverty relief policies of the 16th century and beyond. In many respects this publication contains the principles of the contemporary active welfare state although, in the 16th century, the Church was still dominant in poverty relief and no social policy could take effect without its passive or active approval.

The professional role of social work in a market environment

One argument often heard in garnering support for the reorganisation of the welfare state in the Netherlands is that the safety net which it was intended to form has become something of a hammock, whereas a genuine safety net ought to act more like a trampoline. Nowadays sometimes also known as the activating welfare state, it aims to reduce apathetic response and increase the participation of its citizens in society. More and more, social workers are enlisted to help achieve these goals. Activation, however, is also associated with the introduction of a market environment in the social sector. In 1992, the management of the social work organisation in The Hague concluded a controversial agreement with the municipal social services. Under this contract, clients referred to the social work organisation by the municipal social services would be made eligible for regular jobs on the labour market. The clients who were referred had obligations of their own: their benefits would be reduced if they did not cooperate. The social work organisation guaranteed contractually a success rate of 60% within a pre-determined period. For this ‘product’, the municipal social services paid a fixed amount of money each year. The article describes the professional manner in which the social workers in The Hague dealt with the contract.

Social Benefits in Advanced Capitalist Countries: A Cross-National Assessment

One of the most striking characteristics of the state in the advanced capitalist democracies is the role it plays in the allocation of disposable income. Government policy has, of course, always influenced income distribution through regulation and the provision of public goods, but redistribution is a by-product of such activity, which seeks primarily to accomplish other ends. In contrast, a distinguishing feature of the modem welfare state is its deliberate effort to ameliorate the distribution of income generated by the market. Contemporary states perform this function in two ways, through tax policy and income transfer programs. These are clearly linked, and a comprehensive study of the redistributive consequences of the welfare state would require an examination of their combined impact. Yet income transfers are important in their own right.' They have, indeed, been among the fastest growing components of government activity and, unsurprisingly in an era of economic constraints, among the most controversial. The sharp differences characteristic of contemporary assessments of income transfer policy follow from divergent interpretations of the causes of inequality and of the government's role in addressing it. Supporters of an active welfare state favor more ambitious public redistributive efforts because they regard poverty and insecurity as structural problems inherent in the operation of the market, and they maintain that a measure of social security should be treated almost as a right of citizenship. Moreover, they contend that an active welfare state need not be achieved at the expense of economic growth; indeed, they see income security and distributive equity as important preconditions of a productive work force. Critics of public welfare programs, on the other hand, are suspicious of wide-ranging government transfers because they view most forms of poverty as reflecting a lack of individual effort, and they argue that welfare programs only exacerbate the problem by creating disincentives for individuals to work and save. They reserve their sharpest criticism for programs aimed at the working-aged poor: these efforts, in their view, foster a dependence on government that erodes the self-reliance necessary for a permanent escape from poverty. But even such programs as pensions and health benefits are subject to criticism, if only because they are seen as diverting resources from a productive private sector to an inherently unproductive public sector.2