European Welfare Model Research Articles

Transformative Processes of Gerontological Responses in Different Models of Public Providentialism in the COVID-19 Context: A Bibliometric Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world population at multiple levels. Within the most vulnerable population, the elderly have seen their usual fragilities worsened in an epidemiological context. Thus, it was necessary to reinforce the gerontological response to aging at home, or in place, framed in situations of comorbidities, health problems, economic need and isolation, among other situations of premeditated situations of aging fragility. Objective: Seeking to explain a model of gerontological response to aging-in-place in future pandemic situations. For that purpose, we have explored, through a scientific literature review, the relationship between public participation and the gerontological response to aging-in-place during COVID-19, considering the four main European welfare models. During this analysis we also intended to identify the reconfigurations from those responses, considering their place-based/neutral order. Methodology: To proceed in this analysis, we used a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to identify a series of articles that add value to this problem. Next, in order to identify current research trends, we undertook a Bibliometric Analysis (BA), using the metadata from the same set of articles collected from Scopus and Web of Science. Results: The literature on the subject is interdisciplinary, dispersed throughout areas such as health; social sciences; politics; and computational, molecular, and even environmental fields of study. Through the use of keywords, the literature found on the relationship between the type of gerontological responses to aging-in-place and providence systems is still insufficient. There are, however, other research possibilities, such as exploring indicators of gerontological responses, of public expenditure or of the type of support from interlocutor stakeholders through a comparative study between countries, which allowed us to robustly answer the central question: Is there any relationship between the different public welfare systems and the public participation model, which included community participation, in the gerontological response to aging-in-place during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in southern Europe: the case of social innovation in the care of early childhood in Barcelona

A distinctive role of family care defines the southern European welfare models. Several studies have highlighted the functional overload for families with children under three years old, in which unpaid work is mainly provided by women (even when they work full time), in a context in which the public and private childcare provision is insufficient to meet families' needs. In Barcelona, the emergence of socially innovative projects has partially covered the demand for 0-3 childcare. These projects are based on communities of care made up of parents and educators. However, COVID-19 has severely impacted the participants in social innovations such as childminders, free-education nurseries, and community care groups. Educators working in these projects struggled to survive economically when the 2020 spring lockdown forced them to close, while the closures obliged mothers to juggle work with care. This article presents the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers and educators involved in socially innovative 0-3 childcare projects in Barcelona. The paper uses qualitative and quantitative empirical material gathered between May 2020 and June 2021: interviews with representatives of childcare associations, educators and mothers (before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Spain), and a survey with mothers with children under three (after the lockdown). The results of our investigation show that the communities behind the projects constituted a crucial resource. Parents and educators helped each other, sharing care and financial resources to keep the projects going and find new solutions to the work-family balance.

Financing the cultural and creative industries through crowdfunding: the role of national cultural dimensions and policies

The trend towards digitalisation and technological innovation has reshaped the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) by changing the existing funding models and structures. The aim of this article is to explore the impact of cultural dimensions and policies on the adoption of reward-based crowdfunding as a new form of finance for firms in the CCIs in 12 different European countries during the 2015–2019 period. Our results show that national cultural dimensions and policies significantly affect the demand for cultural and creative crowdfunding. Specifically, the adoption of crowdfunding is broader in individualistic countries and in societies characterised by higher uncertainty avoidance, indulgence, short-term orientation, and lower levels of discrimination between genders. Furthermore, we find that the liberal welfare state model, characterised by limited government interference, market orientation, privatisation and a focus on self-responsibility, and the Southern European welfare model, based on a weak and inefficient state, increase the adoption of crowdfunding in the CCIs. The presence of a central ministry with cultural competence also increases the adoption of crowdfunding in the CCIs. Our findings show a U-shaped relationship between European grants and the demand for crowdfunding, mainly driven by a high or low European involvement within these sectors. We also identify a moderation effect of EU grants on the relationship between cultural dimensions and crowdfunding adoption, suggesting that the magnitude of this relationship depends on the amount of EU grants awarded in a specific country. As a robustness check, we run a set of Poisson regressions with correlated random effects (CREs), confirming our main results.

Comparisons, Categories, and Labels: Investigating the North–South Dichotomy in Europe

ABSTRACT The paper presents genealogy-oriented analysis of how the Nordic model gained its dominant characterization as modern, advanced and superior to other European welfare models while Southern European countries came to be labelled laggards in the welfare domain. To illuminate the relational nature of these, and all, comparisons, the analysis accentuates how researchers, politicians, and civil servants alike designate Nordic and Southern European states, their societies, and their welfare models. The empirical analysis focuses on scholarly writings about welfare-state comparisons (1986–2017) and on European Union documents addressing cohesion policies (1986–2021). Analysis of the vocabulary and labelling illuminates how the Scandocentric and the South-related bias have been produced and reproduced.The analysis indicates that labels, once established, tend to get replicated without question and grow unquestionable in science and policy-making both. While reducing complexity and increasing predictability, this process simultaneously constrains alternative ways to interpret changing situations and alternative contexts.-

Young EU migrant citizens’ access to financial independence in conditions of precarious work: A tripartite approach to welfare conditionality

Young EU citizens are encouraged to enhance their ‘employability’ by taking advantage of intra-EU mobility, but, for many, moving to another EU country can instead generate disadvantages in the labour market. Drawing on a qualitative study on the experiences of university-educated young Nordics and southern Europeans working in precarious jobs in Brussels, we examine how their access to income support in the context of mobility shapes their access to financial independence. We argue that the variation in European welfare models regarding young peoples’ social entitlements impacts this access in multiple and complex ways. The article advances a tripartite approach that looks at the regulation and enforcement of conditionality of social entitlements on the levels of EU, their country of origin and their country of destination. The analysis shows how, in Belgium, precarious EU migrant citizens are denied access to income support due to the interplay between general welfare conditionality for all claimants and recently reinforced conditionality affecting EU migrant citizens in particular. In these situations, the de-familialising Nordic welfare models showed an aptitude for shielding their young citizens. The young southern Europeans, on the other hand, often had no access to income support in any country, which forced them to choose between family dependency and unfiltered exposure to precarity.

Is Mental Well-Being in the Oldest Old Different from That in Younger Age Groups? Exploring the Mental Well-Being of the Oldest-Old Population in Europe

The oldest-old population is increasing in Europe, and greater focus is placed on promoting mental well-being (MWB) in this population. The European Welfare Models and Mental Wellbeing in Final Years of Life project aims to develop a better understanding of how best to promote positive MWB in the oldest-old population. Using a resources approach, the present study aimed to provide empirical evidence about the structure of MWB in the 80 + year age group and to compare this with the structure of MWB in the old (65–79 years) and adult (18–64 years) population. Twenty-eight items reflecting a focus on positive aspects of MWB were selected from the European Social Survey data (24 countries). After application of an exploratory approach using Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling, five- and six-factor model solutions were found to be statistically appropriate, and the results are consistent with the most widely studied dimensions of MWB. Despite specific differences in the factor models and item loadings, evaluation of formal invariance showed that dimensions built in the same way are comparable across age groups. Although explorative and not conclusive, the results of this study contribute insights into the multidimensional structure of MWB in the oldest-old population and provide a starting point for further research on promoting MWB in the later stages of life.

The EMMY Project: Promoting mental wellbeing among the oldest old – The Finnish Case

Abstract Background The European Welfare Models and Mental Wellbeing in Final Years of Life (EMMY, 2017-19) project covers interdisciplinary and mixed method studies on mental wellbeing among the oldest old in Finland, Italy, Norway and Spain. The overarching aim is to strengthen the understanding of how welfare models and related policies could be adapted to support mental wellbeing in the oldest old. Project results will be incorporated in a new tool for assessing the mental wellbeing impact of welfare policies. Methods 23 focus group interviews were conducted, including 117 participants aged 80 years or older. Six of these were conducted in Finland (N = 28) and the data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. In a policy analysis, relevant national legislation, plans and programmes were identified from the four countries. Five key stakeholders in each country validated the identified policies in interviews. The policy items were systematically coded (N = 42 in Finland), focusing on their correspondence with older adults’ own views on their mental wellbeing and its protective factors. Results The findings highlight that although functional status undeniably plays an important role for experienced wellbeing in general, it is not the principal component of the experienced mental wellbeing among the oldest-old. The Finnish policy case pinpoints both promising policy examples, but also development needs such as the inclusion of issues related to e.g. digitalization and social challenges including loneliness. Conclusions These findings have significant multi-level implications, showcasing the importance of coordinated actions at societal and individual levels alike. Actions to enhance social participation, especially for individuals with reduced social networks are needed, as well as a more holistic approach in general considering the multi-dimensional nature of experienced mental wellbeing in later life. Key messages Results support the exchange of good policies between EU Member States to incorporate a change of focus from mental disorders to mental wellbeing among older people and its protective factors. Country-specific case studies highlight the relevance of context,pinpointing the various pathways to increased mental wellbeing that could be translated into policy.

Tax policy, tax disharmony and tax competition: The situation of Greek economy

The European Union is a unique economic and political union, a single "internal" market with over than 510 million inhabitants. Further coordination in the field of taxation is required, since it is not yet integrated into the E.U. policy and remains under the responsibility of national governments. However, the economic and financial turmoil caused by the crisis of 2008 and the new challenges resulted from the globalization and digitalization of the economy, require profound reforms to tax systems. Thus, fiscal policy is a significant priority on the EU agenda: firstly, in order to stabilize public finances, stimulate growth and competitiveness and finance the European social welfare model as well as to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax planning, developed mainly by multinationals. The present paper attempts to explore on a theoretical and empirical basis the challenges and possible developments towards harmonization in European taxation, at a critical juncture, not only for the integration but also for the existence of the European Union. More specifically, it investigates the Greek taxation and its structural weaknesses through empirical research conducted with questionnaires distributed among 225 tax officers, accountants, and accounting executives and statistical processing of their response. The results were examined through descriptive analysis, segmented in seven theoretical domains based on the examination of both audit literature and the present taxation state of Greece. The findings reveal that structural problems remain unresolved within the Greek tax system. However, it is understood that issues of distrust toward the taxation system may hinder harmonization processes.

Mapping European Welfare Models: State of the Art of Strategies for Professional Integration and Reintegration of Persons with Chronic Diseases.

Background: Persons with chronic diseases (PwCDs) often experience work-related problems, and innovative actions to improve their participation in the labor market are needed. In the frame of the European (EU) Pathways Project, the aim of the study is to compare existing strategies (policies, systems, and services) for professional (re-)integration of PwCDs and mental health conditions available at both European and national level between different European welfare models: Scandinavian, Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean, and “Post-Communist”. Method: The European strategies were identified by an overview of relevant academic and grey literature searched through Medline and internet searches, while national strategies were explored through questionnaires and in-depth interviews with national relevant stakeholders. Results: The mapping of existing strategies revealed that, both at European and national level, PwCDs are often considered as part of the group of “persons with disabilities” and only in this case they can receive employment support. European countries put in place actions to support greater labor market participation, but these differ from country to country. Conclusion: Strategies targeting “persons with disabilities” do not necessarily address all the needs of persons with chronic diseases. Countries should consider the importance of employment for all to achieve smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

Straddling two continents and beyond three worlds? The case of Turkey’s welfare regime

AbstractThis article aims to consider how Turkey has been classified in the welfare regime literature, and on what basis it has been classified. This will then form the basis for exploring whether there appears to be any variation between approaches and methods and/or between the “position” (e.g., location or language) of the authors. Studies of Turkey’s welfare regime exhibit a significant degree of variation in terms of both approaches and conclusions, resulting in little in the way of consensus. Among Turkish-language studies (and some, but not all, Turkish scholars writing in English), there does seem to be a broad consensus that Turkey may be classified as part of the Southern European welfare model, which squares with the modal conclusion of the English-language studies on the topic. However, some “regional” studies conclude that Turkey is part of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while many of the cluster analyses suggest a wide variety of clusters that are not geographically contiguous.

Thinking Out of the Box: A Green and Social Climate Fund Comment on "Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames".

Solomon Benatar’s paper "Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames" examines the inequitable state of global health challenging readers to extend the discourse on global health beyond conventional boundaries by addressing the interconnectedness of planetary life. Our response explores existing models of international cooperation, assessing how modifying them may achieve the twin goals of ensuring healthy people and planet. First, we address why the inequality reducing post World War II European welfare model, if implemented state-by-state, is unfit for reducing global inequality and respecting environmental boundaries. Second, we argue that to advance beyond the ‘Westphalian,’ human centric thinking integral to global inequality and climate change requires challenging the logic of global economic integration and exploring the politically infeasible. In conclusion, we propose social policy focused changes to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and a Green and Social Climate Fund, financed by new global greenhouse gas charges, both of which could advance human and planetary health. Recent global political developments may offer a small window of opportunity for out of the box proposals that could be advanced by concerted and united advocacy by global health activists, environmental activists, human rights activists, and trade unions.

Futures of European welfare models and policies: seeking actual research questions, and new problem-solving arsenal for European welfare states

The key research question is to discuss and elaborate the potential value added that futures studies could provide for European citizens and political, social and economic institutions. In the article the problems of European welfare policy issues are theoretically described and analysed. In the article broader framework to understand key policy issues of European welfare policy challenges are defined. A general analysis and generic model for European welfare policy is presented. The Authors also present futures oriented methodological approach to analyse and solve new challenges of European welfare policy problems. Key contributions of this article are: (1) Analysis of theoretical basis for construction of welfare models in future environments, (2) the relationship between research questions and topics in welfare policy planning and management, (3) the analysis of the relationship between futures oriented research questions, methodological stages and outcomes in the field of European welfare policy and (4) the concrete methodological proposal how futures research methodology can help to solve future puzzles of European welfare policy.

Greece After the Crisis: Still a south European welfare model?

ABSTRACTThe debt crisis that broke out in Greece in 2009 and the conditions accompanying the bail out loans received, led to a dramatic decrease in social spending and social benefits. At the same time the need to curb spending led to major reform initiatives that transformed key aspects of the welfare state, such as the pension and health systems. The paper tries to understand to what extent the changes introduced since the outbreak of the crisis constitute a radical departure from past institutional arrangements. To this end, it examines how the reforms introduced in key welfare institutions, the austerity measures adopted, alongside changes in the labour market and family arrangements have transformed the welfare state. It concludes that while the crisis has indeed triggered the introduction of radical reforms, it is premature to speak of a complete model change.

The Good, the Bad, or the Godless Society?: Danish “Church People” and the Modern Welfare State

This contribution analyzes the views held by Danish and Norwegian church people regarding the welfare state, as expressed in the period when the general debate on the welfare state culminated in both countries. Generally speaking, religion played a relatively limited role in international welfare state research, which can be referred to as “blind to religion.” Tough socio-economic variables, well-established political actors, and government interests dominate the field. There are examples of religion as one among many variables, but when it has been ascribed explanatory value, it predominantly has been in relation to southern and continental European welfare models, because the focus has been on Catholicism. In recent years, the frequently mentioned “cultural turn” has made its entrance into comparative welfare research; yet, even then culture and religion are often assigned a modest role in “the black box,” which is invoked when the “harder” data are insufficient. Most recently, historians and church historians have launched a discussion on the Lutheran Nordic welfare state, but so far this discussion has not analyzed empirically the role of the church in the golden age of the welfare state. In this article, we go directly to those involved and examine what the church actors really felt about the post-war welfare state.

The Southern European Welfare model in the post-industrial order

ABSTRACTThe discussion on the existence of a distinctive ‘Mediterranean’ welfare model has focused on the historical and politico-institutional dynamics, as well as on the policy traits of the welfare arrangements found in Southern European countries. Particular attention has been given to the external pressures and internal constraints faced by the welfare systems of these countries, as well as to what extent there is a common response to such challenges. In this article, we claim that while researchers were embarked in this scholarly effort, Southern European societies kept changing, transforming the nature of existing arrangements in not always forecasted directions, to the point of questioning the adequacy of clustering them under a common type. The current context of economic and financial crisis introduces additional factors in the process of transformation and reform of the welfare schemes of these countries, placed at the epicentre of the turmoil shattering European economies and societies.

Leisure Politics

This article ties the expansion of the (European) welfare state model to Belgian national politics and exemplifies how welfare state concepts, such as universalism and decommodification, were adopted in the political campaign for Flemish nationalism in a country on its path to federalism. It focuses on the construction of leisure infrastructure in Flanders, the northern (Flemish-speaking) region of the country, and scrutinizes the role that planning, urbanism, and architecture played in the political project that was set up to strengthen the Flemish community and craft a sense of Flemish cultural identity. It furthermore relates these developments to the situation of pillarization in the country and explicates the convergence of these different forces by narrating the developments in one (telling) case study municipality (Dilbeek) in the Flemish border of the capital city.

Leisure Politics: The Construction of Social Infrastructure and Flemish Cultural Identity in Belgium, 1950s to 1970s

This article ties the expansion of the (European) welfare state model to Belgian national politics and exemplifies how welfare state concepts, such as universalism and decommodification, were adopted in the political campaign for Flemish nationalism in a country on its path to federalism. It focuses on the construction of leisure infrastructure in Flanders, the northern (Flemish-speaking) region of the country, and scrutinizes the role that planning, urbanism, and architecture played in the political project that was set up to strengthen the Flemish community and craft a sense of Flemish cultural identity. It furthermore relates these developments to the situation of pillarization in the country and explicates the convergence of these different forces by narrating the developments in one (telling) case study municipality (Dilbeek) in the Flemish border of the capital city.

Reconciliation of work and family life in Europe: A case study of Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom

European Union institutions as well as member states are embracing welfare policies that support reconciliation of work and family life as a means of solving problems of low fertility and gender inequality, and they do so unanimously within a welfare mix approach. Hence, viewing the social policy rhetoric, everything points to a convergence of European welfare models towards a mixed economy of welfare. However, analysing the everyday experiences of families with young children in four European cities leaves the impression of a continuation of past differences. In 1998/1999 no deviation from the traditional welfare and family policy models could be traced in Roskilde (Denmark), Nantes (France), Mannheim (Germany) and York (the United Kingdom).

Mod en europæisk velfærds- og arbejdsmarkedsmodel

Towards a European welfare and labour market model: an analysis of the genesis of an institutional order During the past decade, cooperation in the European Union has intensified in the field of social- and labour mar-ket policy and has led to a supranational system of wel-fare and labour market regulation. This article analyses the establishment of a European industrial relations system as an ‘institutional order’ and discusses how and why the system has developed. Three crucial situations are ana-lysed as to their contribution to the development of this institutional order. The first is the EU Commission’s three proposals for directives on atypical work in the beginning of 1990. The second is from October 199l when negotiators from three labour market organisations: UNICE, ETUC, and CEEP signed an agreement concerning possibilities of negotiating collective agreements at the European level. The third crucial situation is from Novem-ber 1995 and concerns the first agreement these organi-sations signed concerning maternity leave. The article argues that these events make up crucial situations on the road to the establishment of a European labour market model.

Residuales oder europäisches Wohlfahrtsmodell?

The study discusses welfare reforms in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in relation with the adaptation processes of Western European welfare states on the one hand, the accession preparations of the CEEC on the other. Policy approaches and outcomes are scrutinized for labour market policy, health care, pension systems and family policy in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary and Poland. The study argues that the institutional reforms currently undertaken in Central and Eastern Europe will decide on the future - European or residual - nature of the welfare states in the region. Due to the pre-accession constellation the EU is in a position to influence the path of development and there are good reasons for the EU to promote a European welfare model in the CEEC. However, the European Commission has neither formulated such a model nor contributed to its implementation during the accession preparations.