Comparative Welfare State Analysis Research Articles

Welfare states and their economic policies in a comparative perspective

the research aimed to determine the scope and direction of the economic and social policy in achieving the welfare of society and analyze the main features of the comparison countries, by standing on the extent of Welfare that each country was able to achieve through the results obtained While the importance of the research lies in presenting these comparative models as guiding devices to clarify the analytical differences in determining the role of the state and the status of each pattern of welfare states that produced a policy somewhat different from the policy of economic freedom, The study provided a theoretical and methodological framework to explain differences in the policy of global welfare states. By addressing the patterns of welfare states and the models of social and economic policy followed, and identifying the dimensions of variation that are central to the comparative analysis of welfare states. Therefore, the research problem is centered around the fact that the countries that have achieved a welfare economy are countries based on a market economy. Achieving a welfare economy requires a leading role for the state, and this role is considered an intervention in the market economy. To what extent is this intervention and what are the economic policies adopted by the countries, which made them not on one the line of one initiation in the welfare ladder, Therefore, this sample was selected from countries that differed in their levels of well-being according to their economic policies and the method used, such as Sweden, which had the highest levels of well-being. And France, which mediated the welfare ladder, and Britain, which reached the lowest levels of welfare, in order to know the importance of the approved policy and its role in achieving levels of welfare in order to benefit from it as a method for countries. which seeks to achieve prosperity for its country and its people. Therefore, the most important conclusion came, that the welfare states that attained the highest levels of welfare, the state had a decisive role in three basic tracks: first, by ensuring a minimum income for individuals and families, second, by meeting certain types of social emergencies, and third, by ensuring that all citizens are equal in basic welfare services. Therefore, the most important recommendation came that the state must intervene in a situation regardless of the market mechanism, to create a state of balance between market freedom and social imbalances to achieve a higher degree of social justice.

Welfare states and their economic policies in a comparative perspective

the research aimed to determine the scope and direction of the economic and social policy in achieving the welfare of society and analyze the main features of the comparison countries, by standing on the extent of Welfare that each country was able to achieve through the results obtained While the importance of the research lies in presenting these comparative models as guiding devices to clarify the analytical differences in determining the role of the state and the status of each pattern of welfare states that produced a policy somewhat different from the policy of economic freedom, The study provided a theoretical and methodological framework to explain differences in the policy of global welfare states. By addressing the patterns of welfare states and the models of social and economic policy followed, and identifying the dimensions of variation that are central to the comparative analysis of welfare states. Therefore, the research problem is centered around the fact that the countries that have achieved a welfare economy are countries based on a market economy. Achieving a welfare economy requires a leading role for the state, and this role is considered an intervention in the market economy. To what extent is this intervention and what are the economic policies adopted by the countries, which made them not on one the line of one initiation in the welfare ladder, Therefore, this sample was selected from countries that differed in their levels of well-being according to their economic policies and the method used, such as Sweden, which had the highest levels of well-being. And France, which mediated the welfare ladder, and Britain, which reached the lowest levels of welfare, in order to know the importance of the approved policy and its role in achieving levels of welfare in order to benefit from it as a method for countries. which seeks to achieve prosperity for its country and its people. Therefore, the most important conclusion came, that the welfare states that attained the highest levels of welfare, the state had a decisive role in three basic tracks: first, by ensuring a minimum income for individuals and families, second, by meeting certain types of social emergencies, and third, by ensuring that all citizens are equal in basic welfare services. Therefore, the most important recommendation came that the state must intervene in a situation regardless of the market mechanism, to create a state of balance between market freedom and social imbalances to achieve a higher degree of social justice.

Work-life balance and work engagement across the European workforce: a comparative analysis of welfare states.

Few large-scale, comparative studies have examined both the positive mental well-being outcomes of work-life balance and the broader socio-economic context by which it is shaped. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between work-life balance and work engagement across a wide range of European welfare states, as well as to examine whether work-life balance varies across European countries and whether this variance can be explained by welfare regime, controlling for individual-level factors. This study utilized data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey. In total, 35401 workers from 30 European countries could be classified into the adopted welfare regime typology. Work engagement was measured using an ultra-short version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and work-life balance with a question on the fit between working hours and family or social commitments. Due to the hierarchical structure of the data, multilevel regression models were applied. A statistically significant positive association between work-life balance and work engagement across the European workforce was found. Between-country variance in work-life balance was demonstrated and this can in part be explained by welfare regime. While it has long been recognized that occupational stress and work-related mental health problems are shaped by the socio-economic context and thus regarded as public health concerns in Europe, our results suggest that this applies to well-being at work and related support factors as well.

Family as a redistributive principle of welfare states: An international comparison

Redistribution is one of the main characteristics of the welfare state, and welfare state research has dealt intensely with various facets of it. The main focus in analysing redistribution is on the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of work-related rights. Family as a major principle of welfare state redistribution, though, has hardly been included in these welfare state analyses. It has mainly been addressed by analysing outcome data or by analysing care as the most relevant characteristic of the family. We argue, though, that comparative welfare state analysis that addresses differences in welfare state intended redistribution needs to also include family as a redistributive principle to gain a more complete picture of societal redistribution. In this study, we are analysing the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of family. We answer the question of how and in how far welfare states institutionalize family as a redistributive principle. We examine by means of the tax–benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD and its Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT) welfare state regulations on family for three countries that are generally classed as different regime types. We differentiate between a great variety of family forms (referring to marital status, children and different forms of couples’ income distribution) to adequately test our theoretical assumptions. The findings show that family is a major redistributive principle of the welfare states analysed here and applied in different redistributive logics to the various family forms. This, then, results in an increase in income for certain family forms and a decrease in income for other family forms. These differences are not the result of one coherent set of regulations, but of an interplay of in part contradictory regulations that reflect a great variety of family-related redistributive logics within the single countries. Thus our study provides new insights into the redistributive logics of welfare states, and may contribute to the analysis of welfare state complexity in terms of theory, methodology and empirics.

How to quantify qualitative characteristics of societal differences: a method for systematic comparison of qualitative data (SCQual)

ABSTRACT Social research is rich in methods for analysing societal differences. Yet, although qualitative characteristics are a key component to understanding such differences, the analysis of qualitative data remains a major methodological challenge in most social research, particularly when aiming to compare more than a few cases. The article proposes an innovative method for systematic comparison of qualitative data (SCQual), applying Weber’s original idea of ideal types as a tool to measure and compare societal differences. This method allows for the quantification of qualitative data, thereby enabling systematic analysis and repeatable comparison of the qualitative characteristics of societal differences for a relatively large number of cases. Developed for the comparative analysis of essential characteristics of social orders, particularly comparative welfare state analysis, SCQual may also be applicable to other areas of social research.

비교국가적 관점에서 본 한국 청년 빈곤의 특수성

비교국가적 관점에서 본 한국 청년 빈곤의 특수성

From the Defamilialization to the “Demotherization” of Care Work

This article adds to the debate on how to “genderize” comparative analysis of welfare states by building from mainstream and feminist research. It introduces a new conceptual tool—the “demotherization” of care work—to convey the extent to which mothers can transfer part of their caregiving responsibilities to the state, grand-parents, their partner, or paid caregivers. The concept of demotherization allows shifting the focus of the analysis from the role of “families” to the role of “mothers” in social reproductive work. The combination of motherization/demo-therization and familialization/defamilialization yields four types of maternalism: “implicit,” “traditional,” “state-funded dematernalism,” and “familialized dematernalism.” Although the demotherization of care work leads to increased gender equality, it does not systematically challenge the gendered division of care work.

Comparative Welfare State Analysis with Survey-Based Benefit: Recipiency Data: The ‘Dependent Variable Problem’ Revisited

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the ‘dependent variable problem’ in comparative welfare state analysis, by focusing on ‘benefit recipiency’ as a hitherto largely neglected type of indicator for understanding cross-national and longitudinal variation between welfare states. The pros and cons of the commonly used indicators of social rights and social expenditure are summarised in order to provide a background for a conceptual and methodological assessment of the added value provided by the inclusion of benefit recipiency data in analysis. In addition, we explore the empirical potentialities of benefit recipiency data. We present and discuss the results of analyses of EU-SILC data for the EU 27 countries, using them to calculate and compare rates of access to a series of benefits among working age populations, as well as the relative amounts of benefits received. Our main conclusion is that benefit recipiency data are a promising source for comparative welfare state analysis. However, like other data sources, they are not without problems, and more work needs to be done to assess their value, relative to more commonly used indicators.

Social citizenship rights and social insurance replacement rate validity: pitfalls and possibilities

The comparative analysis of welfare states has been greatly advanced by rights-based measurements of social provisions. Social insurance replacement rates have figured prominently here. Apparently, there is considerable confusion about the validity of replacement rates and their comparability across different datasets. The purpose of this study is to outline a refined institutional perspective in the comparative analysis of welfare states focusing on the character of social citizenship rights. We show that social insurance replacement rates from different datasets differ in their underlying theoretical framework for policy analysis and therefore capture different aspects of how welfare states secure the livelihood of citizens in periods of work incapacity. Analysing validity solely on the basis of replacement rate point estimates is therefore misleading. We show that the close focus on social citizenship rights and programmatic design in the Social Citizenship Indicator Programme (SCIP) carries great potential for causal welfare state analysis.

Welfare Regimes and Global Cities: A Missing Link in the Comparative Analysis of Welfare States?

AbstractThe ‘welfare modelling business’ has been at the heart of comparative social policy analysis but debate has largely proceeded on the basis that coherent national welfare states exist. This assumption was always problematic but globalisation processes have added a further dimension to this debate. In particular, geographers and sociologists have pointed to the increasing power of global cities that act as co-ordinating hubs for the global economy. Though residing in nation states, these cities have a special status flowing from their central role in the global economy. Little attempt has been made to explore the implications of these cities for welfare regimes and welfare regime analysis. This paper addresses this under explored issue and suggests there are strong overlaps between global city types and welfare types.

More than just money: Patterns of disaggregated welfare expenditure in the enlarged Europe

This article demonstrates the potential of the disaggregated expenditure approach in comparative welfare state analysis by applying it for comparing patterns of welfare spending across 28 European countries. An initial factor analysis shows that welfare states differ primarily along their emphasis either on cash transfers for the elderly or on social services and cash transfers for the working-age population. European welfare states cluster along these two spending dimensions in a way that to a great extent coincides with the well-known delineation of welfare regimes based on institutional characteristics. Furthermore, the results attest to the emergence of a variety of welfare arrangements in the post-communist region, yet with a general orientation toward a Bismarckian or conservative model. The results of this analysis demonstrate that disaggregated welfare expenditure measures retain considerable importance in elucidating the realities of contemporary welfare policy.

Case selection in medium-n comparative welfare state analysis

Case selection in medium-n comparative welfare state analysis

Images of Welfare in Law and Society: The British Welfare State in Comparative Perspective

Designed by Beveridge and built by Attlee's post-war Labour government, the welfare state was created during the 1940s. Britain has been seen – in domestic debates and internationally – as a world first: the place where both the idea and the practice of the welfare state were invented. I draw together comparative welfare state analysis with law and society scholarship (previously largely developed in isolation from one another) – as well as using British political cartoons as a source – to develop a revisionist historical critique of this conventional wisdom. First, the British welfare state has always been comparatively parsimonious. Second, the idea of the welfare state seems to have its origins outside the United Kingdom and this terminology was adopted relatively late and with some ambivalence in public debate and scholarly analysis. Third, a large body of socio-legal scholarship shows that robust ‘welfare rights’ were never embedded in the British ‘welfare state’.

The Place of National Systems of Social Protection and Political Representation in Socio-Economic Regulation: A Morphogenetic Structuralist View on Institutional Change in Comparative Perspective with Special References to Japan and France

The paper addresses the issue of rethinking the welfare state as a part of a broader national system of social protection (NSSP) and a mode of societal regulation. In order to overcome the theoretical limits of bottom-up comparative analysis of welfare states, one builds a structural model of such a NSSP, inspired by french “régulation” theory. In this model, the nucleus of every NSSP is composed of three specific relationships bounding the economic and the political orders to the domestic sphere via the mediation of specific institutions: first a relationship of economic consubstantiality (social insurance for example), second a relationship of political alliance with the State (the welfare-state), third a relation of protection of the domestic order (the mix of social insurance benefits and public assistance allocations that insures the reproduction of life chances of the individual in the family framework). But a fourth relation must be introduced in the model in order to loop it dynamically, namely the wage-labor relation, or more widely, the set of market coverages of domestic life (wage, fringe benefits, private insurances, savings). The model is used to obtain a logical typology and a set of ideal-types of NSSP that add to the usual threefold clustering of Welfare States a fourth type exemplified by Japan. Then, building the same type of structural model for the national system of political representation (NSPR), and examining the institutional complementarities between NSSP and NSPR, one defines different national modes of societal regulation among which the Japanese configuration of its social and political institutions appears as one of the ideal-types. Finally, focusing on the French case, one examines, through the concepts of societal coherence and hybridization, how institutional change can be grasped in the framework of this theoretical approach of societal regulation.

Taxing the working poor: the political origins and economic consequences of taxing low wages

Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. A Comparative Welfare State Analysis of Tax Mixes 3. The Economics of Taxing Labour 4. Political Economy Applied to Tax Mixes 5. Empirical Evaluation 6. Conclusion: Employment and Redistribution are Not Incompatible Bibliography Index

Gendering the Comparative Analysis of Welfare States: An Unfinished Agenda

Can feminists count on welfare states—or at least some aspects of these complex systems—as resources in the struggle for gender equality? Gender analysts of “welfare states” investigate this question and the broader set of issues around the mutually constitutive relationship between systems of social provision and regulation and gender. Feminist scholars have moved to bring the contingent practice of politics back into grounded fields of action and social change and away from the reification and abstractions that had come to dominate models of politics focused on “big” structures and systems, including those focused on “welfare states.” Conceptual innovations and reconceptualizations of foundational terms have been especially prominent in the comparative scholarship on welfare states, starting with gender, and including care, autonomy, citizenship, (in) dependence, political agency, and equality. In contrast to other subfields of political science and sociology, gendered insights have to some extent been incorporated into mainstream comparative scholarship on welfare states. The arguments between feminists and mainstream scholars over the course of the last two decades have been productive, powering the development of key themes and concepts pioneered by gender scholars, including “defamilialization,” the significance of unpaid care work in families and the difficulties of work-family “reconciliation,” gendered welfare state institutions, the relation between fertility and women's employment, and the partisan correlates of different family and gender policy models. Yet the mainstream still resists the deeper implications of feminist work, and has difficulties assimilating concepts of care, gendered power, dependency, and interdependency. Thus, the agenda of gendering comparative welfare state studies remains unfinished. To develop an understanding of what might be needed to finish that agenda, I assess the gendered contributions to the analysis of modern systems of social provision, starting with the concept of gender itself, then moving to studies of the gendered division of labor (including care) and of gendered political power.

Family support for older people in an era of demographic change and policy constraints

This paper introduces the Special Issue of four empirical studies on the provision of family support to older people that have been written members of the Family Support for Older People: Determinants and Consequences (FAMSUP) network. They have in common the use of individual-level data and recognition of the importance of demographic forces, cultural variations and public policy in shaping patterns of elder care. The four papers are also explicitly comparative, and emphasise both between- and within-country differences. The European countries examined by the FAMSUP researchers exhibit several broadly similar demographic trends, but these are superimposed on very different policy regimes. The ‘macro’ focus of much comparative policy-oriented research facilitates the identification and description of population ageing, while illuminating the policy issues raised by demographic change. A macro-focus is also characteristic of much comparative welfare-state analysis. The ‘micro’ orientation of the research presented in this collection typically treats the policy environment as an implicit or residual category. We argue that progress in understanding comparative patterns of elder care, and in developing policy responses to demographic change, will be facilitated through blending the macro and micro perspectives, in which variations in the policy environment are explicitly linked to individual- and family-level behaviour.

Penser l'État-providence et ses transformations en Europe

The Esping-Andersen 's book is now translated in French. This is a major contribution to all reflexion on comparative analysis of Welfare-States. This paper sets out its theoretical and empirical fondations and relates the debates and critics that it continues to cause on three points : the treatment of women 's question, the status of Southern Europe in its model, its connection with the contemporary transformations of Welfare.

Welfare state development in Southern Europe

The research reported here constitutes a part of a major project on democratic transition in Southern Europe. The article seeks to bring Southern Europe within the ambit of comparative welfare state analysis by (1) developing time‐series models of social insurance growth in Greece, Portugal and Spain and (2) for the first time, incorporating these nations’ social insurance experience into a model of social security development for the advanced nations. The time‐series analysis centres on the formative interaction of democratic transition with socio‐economic, demographic and policy influences. The cross‐national analysis points to the crucial role of both democratisation processes and cultural differences; as well as the standard repertoire of explanations in this field of research.

Identifying Welfare State Regimes: The Links Between Politics, Instruments and Outcomes

With new sources of cross‐national data appearing on income distribution and the characteristics of redistributional policy instruments, it is now possible to take the comparative analysis of welfare states well beyond the conventional focus on government expenditures. This study of 18 OECD nations examines the linkages between various aspects of the income redistribution process, elaborates a typology of welfare state regimes and locates the political origins of each of these regimes.