Social Investment Policies Research Articles

Ageless Assets: Social Investment and Active Aging Profiles in Lithuania

This article argues that the aging population significantly affects the welfare state. Social investment strategies could respond to a changed economic and social order by enhancing active aging. While the social investment perspective has been a topic of discussion for decades, certain aspects remain underexplored. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of social investments on active aging. The study, based on the social investment approach and active aging model, analyzes quantitative data from Wave 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The Lithuania sample included 1437 participants. In the analytical phase, Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were utilized (SPSS ver. 26). The findings unveil four active aging profiles (low activity, moderate activity, balanced activity, and high activity). The two groups are distinguished by aging conditions, such as poor health, lack of social investment, and high reliance on social benefits. The positive impact of social investment is underscored by the improved aging conditions outlined in the last two profiles. This study enriches the social investment research domain by providing valuable insights into the influence of social investment policies on the lives of older individuals and their potential to age actively.

The politics of subnational social policy: Social consumption versus social investment in Austria

Country comparisons, often suffering from unobserved heterogeneity and obscuring subnational variation, dominate the social policy literature. However, the subnational level is better suited to reduce the omitted variable bias. This article distinguishes between social consumption and social investment policies and investigates their determinants at the subnational level. Following the literature across countries, we test the role of incumbent parties’ ideology, but for within-country variation in social policy. Austria is a case in point because states have discretion in social policy (e.g., regarding public childcare and social assistance). Panel regressions covering all nine states in Austria for the years 1991 to 2019 reveal that the cabinet share of Social-Democrats increases social investment spending, while the Christian-Democratic party decreases it, and the populist radical right party reduces expenses for social consumption.

Rediscovering the Developmentalist-Productive Roots of Welfare State Policies

Persistent calls for social investment-oriented social policy suggest that existing social policies are unsustainable and need radical rethinking. Instead, this paper argues that we need to better understand how long-standing policies have enabled society’s adaptation to socioeconomic changes and forestalled experiences of marginalization, poverty, and acute vulnerability. Inspired by the historical success of Nordic-style social policies, I reconsider the relation between development studies and welfare state studies, synthesize ideas from both, elaborate on the inclusive strand of welfare developmentalism, and introduce a conceptual framework for explaining why existing social policies may be simultaneously protective and productive. Applying social developmentalist ideas from the Global South to the traditional welfare state literature of the Global North, this paper advances a theoretical explanation for why what I term “developmental welfare state policies” defy standard economic assumptions through preventive investments that inhere in existing policy variants. It cautions against promoting separate social investment policies or characterizing policies as exclusively passive or activating.

Assessment of the Sustainability of Productive Systems in Nariño, Colombia

Human development must ensure the welfare and survival of an ever-growing population. To assess the impact of agroecosystems on sustainability in Nariño (Colombia), variables related to sustainable development were evaluated through a semi-structured survey conducted with 122 producers from 6 municipalities in the Nariño department. The association between the categorical variables associated with the pillars of sustainability was analyzed using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). From the MCA, 23 indicators were selected, representing quantitative information on the economic, social, and environmental characteristics of the participants. The municipalities were characterized according to the needs and strengths of the producers. Five groups encompass most characteristics of the producers, which are largely independent of geopolitical conditions. On the other hand, the population characterization indicates that the economic well-being of fruit growers can promote the conservation of natural resources. Finally, a principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was conducted to construct the General Sustainability Index (GSI). A network graph for each municipality revealed that the indicators of the production systems are in an unfavorable environment in almost all aspects related to sustainability. The GSI values reveal unstable agroecological conditions that are causing environmental deterioration, with critical levels in the municipalities of Arboleda, Sandoná, and Providencia. Social investment and public policies must be implemented to improve the economic conditions of the producers, accompanied by legislation on the proper management of natural resources.

Do social investment policies promote employment among the vulnerable? A case of single mothers

PurposeThis study aims to investigate whether social investment (SI) policies improve employment among single mothers.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the potential effects of SI policies on vulnerable individuals and workers at the macro level by using the employment position of single mothers as a dependent variable. Time-series cross-national data from 18 OECD countries between 1998 and 2017 are analyzed. Multilevel model analysis is also used for robustness check.FindingsI find that public spending on education and family support is positively associated with the employment rates of single mothers. In contrast, active labor market policy (ALMP) spending is negatively associated. ALMP’s negative effects stand out particularly with public spending on job training. Of all family support policies, family allowances are positively associated with single mothers’ employment, which runs counter to the conventional argument that family allowances are a disincentive for women’s or mothers’ employment. Paid leave (length and generosity) is also associated with higher employment for single mothers. There is also some tentative evidence that public spending on maternity leave benefits (spending level) may raise the odds of single mothers being employed, when individual-level factors are controlled for in multilevel analysis we implement for robustness check.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper does not analyze the effects of the qualitative properties of SI policies. Future research is necessary in this respect.Originality/valueThe effects of SI policies on employment among single mothers have not yet been examined in the literature. This paper seeks to be a first cut at measuring the effects.

The distributive politics of the green transition: a conjoint experiment on EU climate change mitigation policy

ABSTRACT In the fight against climate change, the European Union has developed a new growth strategy to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To support EU member states in their transition towards greener economies, climate change mitigation policies are being implemented at the EU-level. However, such policies can be designed in different ways, and gaining citizens’ support is crucial for the political feasibility of the European green transition. Drawing on data from an original conjoint experiment conducted in Germany (N = 5,796), this article investigates how policy design shapes public support for EU climate change mitigation. To this end, the study theoretically and empirically distinguishes four policy dimensions that address the distributive politics of the European green transition: sectoral scope, social spending, financing structure and cross-country distribution. The results confirm that all four policy dimensions significantly impact public support. Specifically, the study reveals that support is greatest for EU policy packages that target financial support at the renewable energy sector, include social investment policies, are financed by increasing taxes on the rich, and distribute resources across EU member states based on population size. Furthermore, citizens’ sensitivity to the policy design varies slightly by income position, left-right ideology and climate attitudes.

Minding the time gap: politicians’ perspectives on inter-temporal trade-offs in policy and politics

ABSTRACT Scholars in several fields share a desire to better understand the inter-temporal dimensions of policy-making. While several studies analysed individuals’ preferences regarding policies whose benefits unfold in the future, little is known about policy-makers’ own perceptions of inter-temporal trade-offs in politics. Using an original survey of municipal politicians in Sweden, we demonstrate that factors found important in macro-level research on future-oriented policy-making also matter for politicians’ micro-level perceptions. Politicians who perceive the policy-making process as consensus-oriented, characterised by corporatist concertation and by a low risk of policy reversal, and those who feel confident about (re-)election into government, are less likely to perceive a trade-off between policies that help them win elections and policies that benefit society in the long term, and less likely to view politics as short-term biased. Trade-off perceptions are, furthermore, related to previously overlooked variations in how politicians understand the inter-temporal profile of physical and social investment policies. Our findings have significant implications for comparative public policy research, by uncovering how politicians perceive inter-temporal trade-offs and shining new light on the micro-foundations of future-oriented policy-making.

Public preferences for social investment versus compensation policies in Social Europe

The recent enactment of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) has significantly strengthened the social dimension of the European Union (EU), including the social investment (SI) elements of that social dimension. What is not known, however, to what extent the priorization of SI is supported by the broader public. To address this research gap, we investigate public opinion on 15 different policy areas from the EPSR using Eurobarometer data from 2020 across all EU countries, asking whether the public rather prefers these policies to be delivered at EU or national level. A principal finding is that the public indeed supports more SI than CP policies with respect to EU-level social policy, and more CP than SI policies with respect to national-level social policy. We also investigate whether socioeconomic status (SES) and welfare state effort can explain this phenomenon. We find that higher socio-economic status and more generous welfare states are associated with more support for SI policies on both EU and national levels and vice versa. The findings emphasize the importance of what policies are provided versus who provides them but also pose a puzzle for trade-offs in multilevel governance settings. Hence, the article has important implications for future research on public opinion and Social Europe.

Conceptualization and Practical Dimensions of Social Welfare: Fundamental Perspectives and New Challenges

Social welfare is a vital aspect of modern democracies, encompassing development, ideas, and public policy implementation. This study focuses on the theoretical foundations and practical dimensions of social welfare, aiming to understand its conceptual background and address contemporary challenges. Analyzing the relationship between social welfare and the concept of “need,” the study highlights the role of welfare policies in meeting essential requirements. It further explores the connection between social welfare, poverty, and social exclusion, emphasizing the need to combat marginalization through effective policies. The study delves into the interdependence of social welfare with economic development and growth, emphasizing their mutual reliance. It also examines the link between social welfare and social rights, advocating the combination of universal and selective policies to achieve welfare for all. Moreover, the study addresses emerging challenges such as digitization, robotization, and the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of social investment and active policy implementation to adapt to new circumstances. The aim is to strike a balance between theoretical foundations, philosophical relationships, and practical solutions, ensuring that fundamental values are upheld while addressing contemporary needs. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of social welfare by bridging theoreticalparameters with practical policies. It underscores the importance of implementing relevant social policies to achieve social welfare and emphasizes the need to adapt social policies to evolving challenges.

Poverty, inequality, and redistribution: An analysis of the equalizing effects of social investment policy

Social investment (SI) policies have been implemented by governments of affluent countries in hopes of safeguarding against new social risks and mitigating social exclusion by encouraging employment and making it easier for parents to balance work and family. Governments hope that human capital investment (education and job training) will better prepare workers for jobs, promote their employment and social inclusion, and reduce poverty. This article investigates whether SI policies contribute to lower poverty and inequality by analyzing data from 18 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries between 1980 and 2013. The analysis finds, first, that SI policies (education and active labor market policy (ALMP)) alone may be less effective in generating lower poverty and inequality without redistribution, but when accompanied and supported by redistribution, SI policies are more effective in creating lower poverty and inequality. I propose the explanation that SI policies create lower-income poverty and inequality by creating individuals and households that can be salvaged and lifted out of poverty with redistribution, because SI policies help improve their skills and knowledge and employability, although they may be not quite able to escape poverty or low income without redistribution. As partial evidence, I present the result that education is associated with a lower poverty gap in market income. The analysis also finds that education and ALMP produce lower poverty and/or inequality in interaction with social market economies that redistribute more, and that augments the equalizing effects of education and ALMP. The results, thus, suggest the complementary roles of SI policies and redistribution.

A closer look at demand-side explanations for the Matthew effect in formal childcare uptake in Europe and Australia

Although formal childcare is considered a key social investment policy to combat inequality, available research indicates that in most European and other high-income countries parents with lower socio-economic positions are less likely to use formal childcare. As the literature on the underlying causes of this so-called Matthew effect has not yet converged, this article is the first to assess whether educational gradients in formal childcare uptake can be accounted for by micro-level employment potential and work–family attitudes in 14 European countries and Australia. Complementing available research on supply-side factors such as policy design features, this study indicates that a large part of the educational gradients in formal childcare uptake persist after controlling for socio-demographic background variables, employment potential, and work–family attitudes as micro-level predictors. However, this study also shows that a considerable part of the educational differentiation in formal childcare uptake reflects differential employment potential. This finding turns attention to policies other than childcare to enhance labour market outcomes for lower educated groups, which in turn might attenuate the Matthew effect in formal childcare. Furthermore, a positive relation between individual-level work–family attitudes and the uptake of formal childcare is also identified as a partial explanation for educational gradients in formal childcare uptake. Although the explanatory power of work–family attitudes as an underlying determinant of the Matthew effect is more limited compared to employment potential, such variation in the acceptance of maternal employment and formal childcare should also be considered in the design of inclusive work–family policies.

Equalizing or not? Public childcare and women’s labour market participation

Within the scientific literature and debate on social investment, public childcare provision plays a pivotal role. At the same time, critics have argued that social investment is often unable to reduce social inequalities and, to the contrary, tends to reproduce them (the so-called ‘Matthew effect’). The article focuses on a specific facet of social investment policies: their capacity to support mothers’ employment and its effect on social inequality, by investigating empirically to what extent an expansion of public childcare can help to increase women’s labour market participation and how this eventual support is homogenously distributed among different mothers’ profiles. To give a convincing answer to such a question requires careful attention to methodology, in order to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions. Whereas existing research has predominately focused on cross-national variation and has often been static in nature, the present study assesses the effects of public childcare expansion on women’s labour market participation and employment by examining region-specific within-variation over time of public childcare coverage. The study relies on data from the European Social Survey (2002–2018) that were integrated with an original collection of regional-level information on public childcare. It finds a positive association between increases in public childcare coverage and mothers’ labour market participation. Furthermore, it shows that public childcare helps to fight social inequalities among households with young children. Low-educated mothers are the ones who profit most from an increase in public childcare, and positive employment effects are most pronounced at lower levels of childcare coverage. Therefore, this contribution highlights the importance of public childcare policies as an equalizer in society, especially in contexts in which an intervention is most needed, because expanding childcare fosters mothers’ labour market participation

Look to Denmark or not? An experimental study of the Social Democrats’ strategic choices

Social Democratic parties struggle to maintain their strong electoral position, as political competition has shifted from the traditional left-right dimension to the cultural dimension. This has led to a debate on what would be the most viable electoral strategy for these parties in terms of adjusting their policies. Some propose a “New Left” policy platform that combines social investment and progressive cultural policies; others an “Old Left” policy platform that combines traditional redistribution policies and social-conservative cultural policies. We conducted a survey experiment to test the effects of these two platforms on support for the Norwegian Labour party. Our results show that the New Left platform is more popular among current Labour voters and voters from competing left-wing parties, and the two policy platforms are equally popular among the total electorate.

Manage and make productive: The New Zealand National Party’s social investment policy

New Zealand National Party’s 2022–2023 policy of Social Investment, which if adopted, will legitimise the management of young unemployed in the name of correcting and helping them. Zygmunt Bauman’s (1989) concept of ‘rational bureaucratic culture’ is used to examine the aims to bring the ‘abnormal’ citizen into the tax-paying fold. The policy will ‘manage and make productive’ young welfare recipients to avoid them ‘bludging’ and encourage them into ‘productive work’, no matter how menial. Using philanthropic monies alongside funding through Vote : Social Development is a new development which removes the state’s sole financing of its safety-net responsibility. It will see a new interpretation of Principal: Agency policy.

The Effect of Welfare State Policy Spending on the Equalization of Socioeconomic Status Disparities in Mental Health.

This article examines whether and how the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and depression is modified by welfare state spending using the 2006, 2012, and 2014 survey rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) merged with macroeconomic data from the World Bank, Eurostat, and SOCX database (N = 87,466). Welfare state spending effort divided between social investment and social protection spending modifies the classic inverse relationship between SES and depression. Distinguishing policy areas in both social investment and social protection spending demonstrates that policy programs devoted to education, early childhood education and care, active labor market policies, old age care, and incapacity account for differences in the effect of SES across countries. Our analysis finds that social investment policies better explain cross-national differences in the effect of SES on depression, implying policies focused earlier in the life course matter more for understanding social disparities in the mental health of populations.

The marble cake of social services in Italy and Spain: Policy capacity, social investment, and the national recovery and resilience plans

This article analyses the potential implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the infrastructure of social services in Italy and Spain. Drawing from the policy capacity framework and focusing on childcare and elderly care, we investigate how the National Recovery and Resilience Plans are likely to impact the core functions of the social investment approach. Through document analysis, the article shows that, whereas the infrastructure of the social service system remains characterised by a ‘marble cake’ type of institutional arrangement combining national and subnational responsibilities, attempts have been made by the central governments to steer the social investment policy capacity at the organisational and systemic levels. We argue that the pandemic represents a window of opportunity to rethink the overall system of intergovernmental relations in the field of social services.

Between left and right: A discourse network analysis of Universal Basic Income on Dutch Twitter

Abstract Universal Basic Income (UBI) found its way back to media and policy agendas, presented as an alternative to the social investment policies omnipresent in Europe. In spite of the apparent appeal, however, UBI faces a discursive and political stalemate that seems hard to overcome. In an attempt to understand this tension, we explore the discursive coalitions surrounding UBI in a debate on Dutch Twitter. We use discourse network analysis to (a) cluster discussants endorsing similar positions and (b) see which political elites endorse these positions. We find that the known schism between the liberal and egalitarian interpretations of UBI is driven by ambivalence towards its redistributive implications. Moreover, we observe a turn towards social investment frames amongst UBI advocates, who centrally argue that UBI is activating and deregulating social security. This change in framing, however, seems to have little visible impact on elite coalition formation. Green-left elites remain overrepresented amongst proponents, while liberal and conservatives are opposed, and the socialist party remains divided on the issue. Thus, while the implementation of a ‘full’ UBI seems blocked by redistributive concerns, the social investment turn may be the political compromise that explains the popular appeal and political success of UBI inspired experiments.

Class Conflict or Consensus? Understanding Social Partner Positions on Social Policy Reforms

Abstract This paper addresses the positions of unions and employer associations towards the level of unemployment benefits and active labour market policy (ALMP). These are prominent examples of social compensation and social investment policies respectively. The new dataset ‘Reform Monitor on Political Conflict’ (ReMoPo) is based on expert interviews and a systematic text analysis of all relevant press releases. Over a time-span of 14 years (2000-2014) the data clearly shows conflict between social partners on the level of unemployment benefits whilst there is consensus towards ALMP. I show that, for unemployment benefits, different motivations do lead to different positions. However, for ALMP, different motivations combine with overlapping interests, resulting in a common positive stance. The main theoretical implications of these findings were two-fold: firstly, the type of organisation does not predict positioning on welfare state issues, whereas pragmatic considerations do. Secondly, I suspect that the divergence of motivational factors combined with a consensus towards particular measures is specific to the concept of social investment. This is because social investments (training and qualification measures in this case) were expected to have the most far-reaching and long-lasting positive effects on both individuals and companies and were therefore supported by unions and employer associations.

Better job prospects or an imperative to ‘just work’? A cross‐national study on social investment and women's employment

AbstractSocial investment policies advocate for more and better jobs by supporting families' work‐life balance and investing in human capital. But do they really help to boost employment prospects for women? Earlier literature suggests a positive relationship, but not enough attention has been paid to the type of employment, or to who the actual beneficiaries of these measures are. This article combines ISSP survey data with OECD and national data in a multilevel analysis to determine whether social investment policies benefit female employment, improve job prospects, and apply to all women irrespective of their educational level. We find that training and childcare policies are associated with higher employment levels, however, the claim that social investment increases chances for better job prospects finds little empirical support. These findings suggest that active labour market and childcare policies are associated with more women's employment, but they might still be following a push to ‘just work’.

Knowledge, skills or social mobility? Citizens' perceptions of the purpose of education

AbstractThis article explores individual views of the purpose of education. Most existing research focuses on attitudes and policy preferences; while these types of perceptions have so far been largely overlooked due to a lack of data. Our analysis of original survey data in eight Western European countries shows that personal socioeconomic factors and ideological predispositions shape these individual opinions. Individuals with higher levels of education and income are more likely to view education as aimed at expanding knowledge as goal by itself, and less likely to view it as a tool to promote intergenerational social mobility. Left‐leaning individuals are also more likely to regard education as a goal by itself, and less likely to view it as conferring useful labour market skills for the younger generation. Finally, we investigate the relationship between these different views and individual preferences for social policies. Our results show that the perception of education as promoting intergenerational mobility is strongly associated with support for passive transfers, while the perception of education as conferring marketable skills increases support for workfare policies. Social investment policies, because they are widely supported in the population, are not linked to specific views on education.