Contemporary Social Policy Research Articles

Ideas and the changing relationship between states and markets in social policy: A review essay

AbstractThis review essay takes stock of the recent literature about the role of ideas in social policy, with a particular focus on a key issue in social policy research: the changing interactions between states and markets over time. Specifically, our aim is to examine how the ideational literature discusses and explains prominent contemporary social policy evolutions: the rise of social investment and the financialization and technocratization of the welfare state. This is done based on the scholarship on state/market interactions and the role of ideas in social policy, and by utilizing key insights of scholars of ideational influences on state/market interactions. The article ends with a short agenda for future research on ideas and discourses as a crucial factor in the evolution of the welfare state as a key space in which states and markets interact.

Deciphering Tribal Migration through the Pages of Contemporary Literary Narratives in Translation

Migration, encompassing both international and internal movements, is a multifaceted and pervasive global phenomenon with social, economic and cultural implications. The internal migration of tribal population in India is one such movement that opens up avenues of discussion regarding the socio-cultural, economic and political impact of migration. Tribal migration currently in India, is propelled by the complex interplay of push and pull factors. The proposed paper intends to conduct a comprehensive analysis of tribal migration with the help of literary narratives written in regional literature translated to English. The study situates the selected texts in the framework of migration studies to examine the dynamics of tribal migration in India. While the existing studies problematize the event of tribal migration, the current examination endeavours to broaden its scope by analyzing both the challenges and benefits of migration for the tribal population in India. The study underscores that migration for education empowers the younger generation of tribal population from their disempowerment and marginalisation, owing to the fact that it would enable intercultural transactions and social exposure. Further, it foregrounds the tribal actuality of forced migration that ultimately accentuate their existing deprivation. An understanding of the aforementioned dual dynamics of tribal migration would enhance the contemporary social policies aiming at tribal empowerement.

The ‘two lives’ of Esping‐Andersen and the revival of a research programme: Gender equality, employment and redistribution in contemporary social policy

AbstractThis article makes two conceptual contributions to social policy literature. First, we summarise key concepts and insights from Gøsta Esping‐Andersen's major books, tracing his work in ‘two lives’: ‘the foundations, or the welfare state between states and markets’ and ‘the demographic turn’. Analysing the ‘first life’, we revisit the centrality of the decommodification and social stratification concepts and the seeds of the social investment approach. Further, we explore Esping‐Andersen's masterful analysis of the double bind of the welfare state (supporting full‐employment and redistributional harmony) in a post‐industrial era and how countries belonging to different regimes have dealt with it. Through his ‘second life’, we explore the ‘impossible marriage’ between full employment and equality, and the development of the social investment approach. Our second contribution is to critically analyse a tension—generated by the shift from a broad to a narrow social policy perspective—between the two lives and how it raises questions for contemporary social policy. We suggest the field should take stock of Esping‐Andersen's work holistically, going beyond a simplistic use of welfare regime typologies and the universal proposition of a Scandinavian‐style social investment approach. This approach tends to overlook factors related to the international context (e.g., the expansion of the market logic, and questions of exchange, inflation and debt) when assessing the impact of social policy on key outcomes. Our ultimate goal is to revive a research programme based on the integration between social policy and international political economy, a programme geared at critically assessing issues related to gender equality, employment and redistribution.

The Labor Market and Gender during the 20th Century: An Analysis of the Causes of the Feminization of Welfare Policy in Argentina

This article delves into the intricate relationship between the evolution of Argentina’s labor market, particularly the historical inclusion of women, and the contours of contemporary social welfare policies for female recipients. Set against the backdrop of a decades-long crisis in employment and income, especially affecting low-income families and women tasked with caregiving responsibilities, the article posits the hypothesis that the trend of feminization in social welfare policies partly stems from the pauperization of Argentina’s labor market in the latter part of the 20th century and the historically subordinate role of women within patriarchal capitalist societies. Employing an empirical-historical methodology, it scrutinizes the shifts and dynamics of the labor market over the 20th century as well as the features of the welfare policy framework at the beginning of the 21st century. The article is a contribution to Argentina’s labor market and social policy literature and portrays current socio-welfare programs as an adaptation to the employment and income crisis, further entrenching women’s subordinate status within the social fabric.

Adoption of nomadic childcare practices by urban Kazakh families: A sociological analysis

Relevance. Kazakhstan�s modern social policy landscape has created challenges for urban families in managing childcare and household duties. This study examines the revival of nomadic cultural practices, specifically the employment of �female assistants�, as a response to these challenges. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to investigate the experiences of urban Kazakh middle-class couples who adopt or revive the practice of employing �female assistants� for childcare and household management, exploring the underlying reasons for this trend. Methodology. The research utilizes data from 11 individual semi-structured interviews with female assistants, conducted between 2014 and 2017. A qualitative analysis approach was employed to examine the complexities of this social phenomenon. Results. The study reveals a complex interplay of familial obligations, gender roles, and economic necessities in the employment of �female assistants�. These arrangements often result in the exploitation of the assistants, who lose autonomy over their time and labour. The host families, while benefiting from the support, experience conflicting emotions about the fairness of the situation, often attempting to compensate through material means. Additionally, the study uncovers a significant invisibility of �female assistants� in symbolic representations and family hierarchies, contributing to the undervaluation of their work and social status. Conclusions. The research illuminates how urban Kazakh families navigate the challenges of contemporary social policies by reviving and adapting nomadic cultural practices. It underscores the complex power dynamics, emotional labour, and symbolic representations associated with the role of �female assistants� in modern Kazakh households, pointing to the need for further diversification of social policies regarding motherhood and childcare. Keywords: social policy; neo-traditionalism; Kazakh families; �female assistants�

Elderly care, family and social policies in the braszilian reality: from na intersectional perspective

The demand for care has been changing from childhood to old age at a time of demographic, epidemiological, socioeconomic and political transitions. The aim of this article was to discuss care from a perspective of social totality and intersectionality, considering its historical relationship with the gender perspective, which is more distinct between classes and by ethnicity / race in which exploitation, oppression and discrimination are added and intersected deepening social inequalities. It highlights the role and place of contemporary social policies in the provision of care and concludes that the policies, in addition to not being anchored in intersectionality, reproduce familism, social inequalities by sharing the responsibilities of social protection with numerous actors and institutions while the State assumes the role of regulator, “social risk management” or monitoring of care provided by family or non-governmental organizations, coordinating the service network.

Crises of the welfare state, resilience, and pessimism of the intellect

AbstractThe crises faced by welfare states have now endured for significantly longer than the counter‐period of stability, calm and cooperation between the 1940s and 1970s. Systemic crisis of welfare states tied to the contradictions of capitalism, and the exogenous crises for the welfare state that have afflicted its expansion have, however, been met by faith in its resilience evidenced in its economic functions and popularity. We question the basis for optimism by examining the ‘state of the welfare state’ in the context of the social goals envisaged in the 1940s and the extent to which these are evidenced in contemporary social policy arrangements. We present a case for more ‘pessimism of the intellect’ in assessing welfare futures to better underpin welfare state scholars' tendency towards ‘optimism of the will’.

Socijalno uključivanje odraslih sa intelektualnim smetnjama u Hrvatskoj

Introduction. Contemporary social policies aimed at individuals with disabilities are grounded in the social model of disability. As a result, the primary objective of social policy towards individuals with disabilities globally, within the EU, and also in Croatia, is the pursuit of social inclusion following the initiation of deinstitutionalization. Objectives. This research aimed to examine the social inclusion of adults with intellectual disabilities in Croatia. The primary objective involved identifying dimensions or factors within the social inclusion Questionnaire. Additionally, the study sought to explore potential correlations between the age and gender of adults with intellectual disabilities and their level of social inclusion. Method. The study comprised 145 adults with intellectual disabilities, residing with their families in various cities across the Republic of Croatia. A questionnaire specifically tailored to measure the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities was developed. Results. The final version of the Questionnaire singled out 4 factors within the construct of social inclusion: Social environment and physical health; Inclusion and human rights; Mental health and relationships with family and friends; and Economic well-being. The findings revealed that there were no statistically significant associations between the social inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities and either their age or gender. Conclusion. It is important to develop better measurement instruments for social inclusion and to conduct research on a larger sample of individuals not involved in non-governmental programs. The impact of age and gender should also be examined qualitatively to identify specific characteristics. Additionally, according to the descriptive data, there is a need for improved educational programs and employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

A szegénység csökkentésére irányuló szakpolitikák konceptuális megközelítései

The Outlook paper presents Panica's 2023 study on the changing relationship between conceptual approaches to development and poverty reduction policies. In contemporary social policy discourses, the legitimacy of the institution of the 'state' is increasingly subject to critique. Although the state, including welfare systems, played a significant role in the modern civilisation process in Western Europe, the cultural-civilisational 'development' of society in Central and Eastern Europe was different from that in the West. Daniela Panica's study, presented below, was conceived with the intention of understanding the ideologies that aspired to welfare statehood in Romania. She argues that to model these processes, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the eras of social policy, which can be best captured through chronological changes in the poverty reduction methods used.

Contract, Status and the Bonds of Welfare

This article explores the relationship between contract and status in the context of contemporary social policy. Using examples of contract in the areas of unemployment policy (what is here called the workfare contract) and what has become known as the financialisation of the welfare state (Social Impact Bonds), the article identifies the types of bonds and obligations involved in those contracts and their sources. Drawing critically on Émile Durkheim and Max Weber's work on the history and pre-history of contract, it is argued that issues of status - the status of the unemployed and capital, amongst others - lie at the core of those contracts. Consequently, unlike analyses that equate aspects of contemporary social policy with a shift from status to contract, it is argued that contract and status are inextricably linked and that a fuller understanding of contract depends on an exploration of the non-contractual dimensions of contract.

Gender Norms under Socialism and Capitalism: A Historical Examination of Attitudes towards Maternal Employment in the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany

Research on the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the 1980s shows a high level of congruence between conservative social policy deterring mothers from employment and traditional societal gender norms. In contrast, little is known about whether people in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) agreed with the socialist idea of continuous full-time maternal employment. Based on unexploited GDR data from 1984 and a description of contemporary social policy, this study examines attitudes towards maternal employment, whether they were related to individual preferences for work or children, and their congruence with the socialist policy. The same questions are examined for the FRG using data from 1982.
 Results for the GDR indicate that one third of respondents rejected the socialist idea of maternal full-time employment, with individual work preferences being decisive for respondents’ assessments. In the FRG, there was a high degree of agreement with the gender norm of maternal non-employment, with this being dependent on individual preferences for children. These findings complement post-reunification evidence on East-West-differences in gender norms and provide insights into attitudes under Eastern European state socialism.
 * This article belongs to a special issue on “Demographic Developments in Eastern and Western Europe Before and After the Transformation of Socialist Countries”.

Optimizing the Aging Brain: The BEAD Study on the Ethics of Dementia Prevention

Dementia has lately undergone a profound reconceptualization. Long conceived of as an unpreventable process of mental deterioration, current evidence shows that it can be prevented in at least one in three cases intervening on a specified set of factors. Issues of justice and equity loom large on the implementation of dementia prevention, from a global health perspective. Our project thus embraces emerging evidence about dementia risk factors and their uneven distribution nationally and globally by specifically focusing on the situated aspects of dementia prevention.The aim of the BEAD study (Optimizing the Aging Brain? Situating Ethical Aspects in Dementia Prevention) is to dissect the ethical and clinical assumptions of this novel understanding of dementia, and to analyze how such new discourse on dementia prevention plays out in three countries: Canada, Germany and Switzerland.This study adopts a multi-perspective, comparative, qualitative approach, combining stakeholder interviews with different kinds of focused ethnographies, elaborating on conceptual, ethical, and social aspects of what we would like to call the “new dementia”.By situating the paradigmatic shifts in Alzheimer’s and dementia research within current aging cultures and contemporary social policies, we aim to initiate a debate about the often implicit unresolved social, ethical, and political implications and preconditions of the medical understanding and handling of cognitive disorders.

Demographic and Family Policies as a Part of Contemporary Social Policy: Theoretical Approaches, Goals, Implementation Mechanisms and Performance Assessment (Part 2)

Despite the long history of implementation of demographic policy, there is no consensus on its results. The principles and criteria for evaluating the results are discussed in great detail in the literature, but opinions differ greatly with regard to the domestic policy. Nevertheless, experts assess the results as low, because despite the success of certain years stable natural population growth has not been achieved. The results of family policy are also low, since the poverty of families with children is very high, and the family crisis has not been overcome. The article examines some of the benefits of demographic and family policy, which are aimed at helping young families and families with children. It is noted that the benefits in general do not fulfill their function, because they are small enough to make a noticeable contribution to the family budget, or do not provide a standard of living even at the level of the subsistence minimum. It is shown that, in general, the more economically developed a region is, the more opportunities it has to implement more active policies, although the relationship between the level of economic development and the amount of assistance to families with children is not always direct. However, the differences between the regions are significant. It is concluded that other measures of assistance to families with children need to be considered in more detail, and that regional measures of assistance to families need to be monitored regularly. It is necessary to increase funding for demographic and family policy measures and to modernize the system of benefits. It is also necessary to strengthen family policy measures aimed at creating the need for a family way of life and for several children in the family. This article is the second part of the study. The first part examined the goals, functions, and approaches to demographic and family policies (see Journal Issue No. 1, 2022).

The resilience of maternalism in European welfare states

ABSTRACT This article goes in search of contemporary maternalism in European social policy. It first undertakes a review of both the meaning and forms of maternalism querying how scholarship and policy framed maternalism in Europe and, secondly, assesses its significance in today’s European welfare state. The article argues that maternalism has been crowded out from the analysis of contemporary social policy by a host of other concepts and frameworks that downgrade gender equality. However, maternalism continues to have relevance and application in policy. It is a different – less explicit – maternalism as compared with the past. The maternalism that we see today is more implicit in the sense that it is the result of a new familialism which emphasises both women’s and men’s changed roles but in a gender-neutral framing. The ‘problem’ as policy sees it is to get men more involved and active in the rearing of their children and the main way of doing that is not through major redistributive or other structural change measures but through a mild set of incentives oriented to cultural change. At the same time, women are being repositioned more centrally between family and employment but they have to do both. Policy now tends to speak in gender-neutral terms or, when it does use gender-specific terms. These lack any radical purchase.

Demographic and Family Policies as a Part of Contemporary Social Policy: Theoretical Approaches, Goals, Implementation Mechanisms and Performance Assessment (Part 1)

The demographic situation in Russia continues to be extremely difficult: the number of births is declining while mortality is increasing and the population is aging. The problem is aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has a negative impact on the health, mortality, and standard of living of the population. Under these conditions, there is a need for public policy, which can reverse or at least slow down the existing demographic trends. To do this it is necessary to understand its functions. The article deals with the state social policy and its parts (family and demographic policies). There is agreement on the definitions of each policy, but their functions and objectives continue to depend largely on the researcher's approach. The demographic policy is considered very broadly, and population reproduction may be associated with quality of life. There is a certain connection between them, but it is often indirect and it is impossible to clearly distinguish the contribution of the economic component to demographic development. It is also often emphasized that the demographic policy should not set clear quantitative goals. These two provisions blur the essence of this policy and, to some extent, limit the field of its implementation. Family policy, which is as equal a branch of social policy as demographic policy, is very often seen as a component of the demographic policy. This means that it gets assigned functions that are not peculiar to it, to the detriment of the family component itself. In order to increase the effectiveness of both policies, it is necessary to more clearly define their goals, functions, and mutual equality.

Back to the Theory: Re-Considering Social Policies as Egalitarian Pre-Conditions of the Liberal Meritocracy

Looking at the given literature of social policy, it is clearly seen that both definition and objectives of social policies are either explicitly or implicitly associated with the aim of building up just society. However, most of contemporary scholarly works does neither clearly express what type of social justice is aimed by these policies nor explain how and why socio-economic structure of stratified societies morally necessitates social policies. Such ambiguities appear primarily due to insufficient engagement of contemporary social policy literature with broad literature of social justice developed by political philosophy and advanced by sociological conception of inequalities. Thus, an implication of such ambiguities is that the moral justification behind social policies either remains unclear or is covertly built upon a philanthropic and/or altruistic reasoning. Departing from these ambiguities and their implications, this work firstly focuses on the desert and merit-centred value distribution through which the liberal school of social justice in the political philosophy justifies inequalities in outcome. Following this, it discusses on morally flawed nature of the meritocratic distributional model and its associated policies, such as equality of opportunity, by drawing on sociological conception of inequalities.
 Lastly, underlining the role of individual’s social class in formation of merits and referring to recent conceptual developments in the broad literature of social justice, it justifies social policy as inevitable egalitarian pre-condition, rather than philanthropic and/or altruistic initiatives, for the liberal meritocratic value distribution.

Urban green commons for socially sustainable cities and communities

ABSTRACT In these times of global pandemics and climate crisis, social sustainability has become a crucial issue within diverse sectors and disciplines. This article aims to broaden the discussions on social sustainability in general, and in relation to community work within professional social work in particular. By means of a cross-disciplinary bricolage approach – with a focus on the commons – we aim to construct a holistic view of urban social sustainability. Beginning with the Anthropocene concept, which recognizes the human impact on the Earth’s natural systems and hence highlights the need to include the natural environment as a determinant of good and fair living conditions for all, we remix arguments and examples relating to social sustainability with environmental and spatial dimensions to develop an urban green commons. Our cross-disciplinary perspective extends beyond contemporary social policy by bringing together natural resource management, public health, and spiritual aspects of the commons. In order to fit the plurality of urban contexts across the planet, further critical deliberations are needed, focusing on social sustainability and collective action for sustainable change in each context.

"Conversion Therapy" Experiences in Their Social Contexts: A Qualitative Study of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts in Canada.

Objective:To describe in what forms, with whom, where, when, and why Canadians experience sexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts (SOGIECE).Methods:This qualitative study is grounded in a transformative paradigm. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 22 adults recruited from across Canada who have experienced “conversion therapy.” Directed content analysis was used, employing deductive and inductive coding approaches, to synthesize the findings and address 5 policy-relevant questions.Results:What are SOGIECE? Formal and informal methods of SOGIECE were used, including pharmacologic interventions, denial of gender-affirming care, and coaching to repress sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression. With whom did SOGIECE occur? Practitioners included religious leaders, licenced health-care professionals (e.g., psychiatrists and psychologists), peers, and family members. Where did SOGIECE occur? SOGIECE occurred in 3 predominant settings: faith-based, health care, and social life. When did SOGIECE occur? SOGIECE rarely occurred over a restricted time frame; often, SOGIECE began while participants were adolescents or young adults and continued multiple years under various forms. Others described SOGIECE as a context in which their life was embedded for many years. Why did people attend SOGIECE? Cisheteronormative social and religious expectations taught participants that being non-cisgender or non-heterosexual was incompatible with living a good and respectable life.Conclusions:SOGIECE are not a circumscribed set of practices. Our study shows that SOGIECE are a larger phenomenon that consists of intentional and explicit change efforts as well as heterosexual- and cisgender-dominant social norms expressed and enforced across a wide range of settings and circumstances. This study provides critical context to inform contemporary social and health policy responses to SOGIECE. Policies should account for the overt, covert, and insidious ways that SOGIECE operate in order to effectively promote safety, equity, and health for sexually diverse and gender-diverse people.

The Experts' Advice: Prevention and Responsibility in German Media and Scientific Discourses on Dementia.

In the absence of effective pharmacological therapy options, the focus of dementia and Alzheimer’s research has shifted from treatment and care to risk prediction, early detection, and prevention. Public health communication and media coverage regarding dementia emphasize the individual responsibility for dementia risk management. Focusing on the social and moral implications of the new understanding and public representation of dementia, we present an analysis of medical science, nursing science, and media discourses in Germany between 2014 and 2019. We show which notions of dementia and prevention characterize the medical and nursing science debates regarding dementia and how scientific knowledge is transferred into media discourses on dementia. We further discuss how dementia risk communication interacts with contemporary social and health policies and in what ways current dementia discourses are associated with a (self-)responsibilization of cognitive aging.

Forging a Linguistic Identity, Overseas-trained South Asian Doctors in the UK

Contemporary social policy debates on community cohesion in the UK appear to have very prescribed identities for migrants centred around on concepts of ‘Britishness’, having ‘common values’ and one national language, that is, English, for their successful integration. This paper draws on an empirical study of the integration and identity experiences of overseas-trained South Asian Doctors in the UK. The study involved in-depth interviews with 27 overseas-trained South Asian doctors practicing as general practitioners (GPs) in three geographical locales with varying ethnic density and urban/rural mix in the UK. The study set out to explore how this group of highly skilled migrants integrated into the UK society, perceived their identities and whether they had acquired a sense of belonging to Britain. The key concepts examined included identity, context of migration, structural and socio-cultural integration. Their narratives show that while they drew on certain sections of British society for recognition and realisation of opportunity by embedding themselves in local social contexts, they also drew strength from their own religious/cultural and linguistic resources. This included engaging with the revolutionary writings of their own poets and scholars as a way of creative thinking, innovating and dealing with adversity. In addition to the adaptation and dealing with adversity in the UK, the evidence shows that South Asian languages have played a significant role in maintaining transnational identities.