Social Investment Policies Research Articles

Class and social policy in the knowledge economy

AbstractRecent studies of welfare state attitudes in the knowledge economy find very high generalized support for generous welfare state policies, both among the working and the middle classes. Has class become irrelevant as a predictor of social policy preferences? Or do we simply mis‐conceptualise today's class conflict over social policy? To what extent has it changed from a divide over the level of social policy generosity to a divide over the kind of social policy and – more specifically – over the relative importance that should be given to different social policies? Answering these questions is not only relevant to understand welfare politics in the twenty‐first century, but electoral politics as well: only when we understand what working‐ and middle‐class voters care about, can we evaluate the role distributive policies play in electoral processes. We use original survey data from eight West European countries to show that middle‐ and working‐class respondents indeed differ in the relative importance they attribute to social investment and social consumption policies. Middle‐class respondents consistently attribute higher absolute and relative importance to social investment. We also show that this emphasis on investive policies relates to the middle class expecting better future economic and social opportunities than the working class. This divide in anticipated opportunities underlies a new kind of working‐ versus middle‐class divide, which contributes to transforming the class divide from a conflict over the level of social policy to a conflict over the priorities of social policy.

Social Investment, Employment and Policy and Institutional Complementarities: A Comparative Analysis across 26 OECD Countries

AbstractRaising employment has been at the heart of EU strategies for over twenty years. Social investment, by now a widely debated topic in the comparative welfare state literature, has been suggested as a way to pursue this. However, there are only a couple of systematic comparative analyses that focus on the employment outcomes associated with social investment. Analyses of the interdependence of these policies with regard to their outcomes are even more scarce. We empirically analyse the extent to which variation in employment rates within 26 OECD countries over the period 1990-2010 can be explained by effort on five social investment policies. We additionally explore the role of policy and institutional complementarities. Using time-series cross-section analyses we find robust evidence for a positive association between effort on ALMPs and employment rates. For other policies we obtain mixed results. ALMPs are the only policies for which we observe signs of policy interdependence, which point at diminishing marginal returns. Additionally, our analysis demonstrates that the interdependence of social investment policies varies across welfare state regimes. Together, this indicates that the employment outcomes of social investment policies are also contingent on the broader framework of welfare state policies and institutions.

Gender and attitudes toward welfare state reform: Are women really social investment promoters?

This article contributes to the study of the demand side of welfare politics by investigating gender differences in social investment preferences systematically. Building on the different functions of social investment policies in creating, preserving, or mobilizing skills, we argue that women do not support social investment policies generally more strongly than men. Rather, women demand, in particular, policies to preserve their skills during career interruptions and help to mobilize their skills on the labour market. In a second analytical step, we examine women’s policy priorities if skill preservation and mobilization come at the expense of social compensation. We test our arguments for eight Western European countries with data from the INVEDUC survey. The confirmation of our arguments challenges a core assumption of the literatures on the social investment turn and women’s political realignment. We discuss the implication of our findings in the conclusion.

Social Risks and Class in the Baltic States: Insights for Social Investment Strategy

The understanding of the distribution of social risks according to social classes can ensure more targeted social investment policies. This article aims to analyze the distribution of social risks according to the social classes in the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The micro data used in this analysis are collected from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data base of 2015 covering the three Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The findings of this analysis revealed that in many cases, the distribution of social risks is related to social class. However, the findings suggest there is a higher probability of certain social risks among members of the lower middle class than those who are employed in lower class elementary (basic skills) occupations.

ПОЛІТИКА СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ІНВЕСТУВАННЯ БАНКІВСЬКИХ УСТАНОВ: УКРАЇНСЬКІ РЕАЛІЇ І ЗАРУБІЖНИЙ ДОСВІД

Зазначено, що в умовах зростання конкурентної боротьби на фінансових ринках особливої актуальності набувають питання впровадження принципів соціального інвестування у діяльність банківських установ. Зазначено, що у 2007—2018 рр. вітчизняні банки мали різний ступень інформаційної відкритості стосовно здійснюваної ними політики корпоративної соціальної відповідальності. Виявлено, що загальною тенденцією останніх років є зростання індексу прозорості банків щодо політики соціальної відповідальності, проте його середній рівень є нижчим, аніж рівень, який мають агропідприємства, компанії енергетики та металургії. Акцентовано увагу на існуванні прямого взаємозв’язку між інформаційною прозорістю банків та їхньою надійністю. Констатовано на основі аналізу нефінансової звітності вітчизняних банківських установ, що в теперішній час відбувається заміна традиційних соціальних програм на волонтерську допомогу з боку співробітників банків, а також переорієнтація з іміджевого аспекту соціального інвестування на стратегічний. Наголошено, що інтеграція політики соціального інвестування в загальну стратегію розвитку банків зумовлює необхідність визначення кількісного впливу соціальних інвестицій на ефективність банківського бізнесу. Визначено обмеженість внутрішніх соціальних інвестицій (інвестиції у навчання персоналу) і несистемний характер зовнішніх соціальних інвестицій (благодійництва) вітчизняних банків. Обґрунтовано на основі результатів кореляційного аналізу щільність і характер зв’язку між зростанням ефективності соціального інвестування, розміром витрат на маркетинг і результативністю банківської діяльності відповідно. Запропоновано поширення зарубіжного досвіду соціального інвестування банків, зокрема, використання таких сучасних інноваційних технологій партнерства банків із зацікавленими сторонами, як грант-мейкінг і паблік рілейшнз.

The Hidden Homeownership Welfare State: An International Long-Term Perspective on the Tax Treatment of Homeowners

Welfare is traditionally understood through social security decommodifying labor markets or social investment policies. In the domain of housing, however, welfare for homeowners is largely hidden in the tax codes’ fiscal exemptions. Based on a content analysis of legislation, this paper introduces a novel yearly database of 37 countries between 1910 and 2020 to uncover the “hidden welfare state” of taxes on imputed rent, deductibility of mortgage payments, housing capital gains tax and VAT on newly built dwellings. Summary indices of homeownership attractiveness and neutrality of the tax code show that fiscal homeownership policies have been in decline until the 1980s and risen ever since. They are in place where finance is liberally and labor restrictively regulated. Contrary to the classical welfare state, they are not associated with an economic logic of industrialism or left-wing governments, but a rent-regulation alternative of Common-Law jurisdictions and smaller countries. As welfare for property owners, the logic of fiscal homeownership welfare diverges from the classical welfare for the laboring classes.

Lukewarm or enthusiastic supporters? Exploring union member attitudes towards social investment and compensatory policy

Although social investment has become an increasingly important topic in the welfare policy discourse, reform efforts are stalling in many contexts. We examine whether labour unions and their members may be one factor contributing to the varying implementation across countries. In particular, we focus on the difference in the policy attitudes of union members and non-members. Using a new comparative survey, we investigate how union member attitudes toward social investment and classic compensatory policy differ from those of non-members, and how these differences vary across countries. We find that union members appear to be lukewarm supporters: even though union members are generally supportive of social investment policies, they tend to support compensatory policies even more. We also find cross-national variation in these associations, for which we provide some tentative explanations.

When voters favour the social investment welfare state

AbstractWe investigate when voters favour social investment. Welfare states have transformed their core policies as a result of low economic growth and fiscal pressures. The social investment strategy, such as broader education provision and promotion of women's employment, aims at shifting the economy from the traditional Keynesian welfare state to the high-productivity economy by encouraging long-term and inclusive human capital formation. Social investment is popular among citizens in many developed economies, especially in the EU where governments promote social investment as part of their welfare policy packages. However, in Japan, the term ‘social investment’ is rarely used in policy discussions. Consequently, we ask what levels of voter support social investment policies have in such an environment; which voter characteristics are associated with social investment support; and whether voter support for social investment differs when placed in a broader policy context. To answer these questions, we conducted an online survey with a conjoint experiment. Our data analysis shows that social investment policies are popular among Japanese people, despite a lack of familiarity with the concept of social investment. We find that social libertarians and female respondents are more likely than social authoritarians and male respondents to support social investment. In addition, there is some evidence that higher income voters are favourable to social investment policies. Furthermore, voter support for social investment depends on the policy context. Support becomes weaker when social investment policies are presented in combination with decreasing levels of social security spending. Our results highlight what kinds of social investment policies could be achieved without damaging electoral fortunes.

Immigrant integration and social investment

This article offers an overview of scholarship on social investment policies in relation to the integration of immigrants and the role they can play in multicultural societies. At first sight, social investment is a promising strategy to deal with the inequalities in human capital and life chances that plague multicultural societies. However, on the basis of the available knowledge, the article shows that the benefit of social investment interventions for immigrants may be lower than expected for two main reasons. First, there are access biases in most typical social investment policies (for example, childcare, active labour market policies, training) that tend to limit participation by non-natives. Second, employers’ recruitment preferences and labour market discrimination are also likely to limit the potential of social investment interventions for immigrants. I conclude that to exploit the full potential of social investment policies in the promotion of immigrant integration, these policies need to be adapted, particularly by taking into account the essential role played by employers.

Editorial: The Privatization of Work-Related Risk Control

Abstract This introduction starts by linking the privatization of work-related risk control to a political context in which social investment policies are prominent. Subsequently, a short overview of different forms of privatization is given. Finally, the different contributions to this special issue are introduced by either relating them to the governance or the consequences of privatization. Based on the contributions to the special issue, it is concluded first that the governance of privatized risk control poses difficult challenges of finding the right balance between public objectives and the involvement of private interests. Secondly, it is concluded that, by excluding or marginalizing the most vulnerable group, the privatization of risk control does not always achieve the equality of opportunities that social investment policies aim for. These risks of exclusion and marginalization seem to be particularly salient when the privatization of social investment policies is embedded in a context of retrenchment or a dualization of the labor market.

Great Recession, great regression? The welfare state in the twenty-first century

AbstractHas the welfare state undergone significant retrenchment in the aftermath of the 2007–08 crackdown? In the literature, two contrasting views can be found. Some commentators argue that expansions that would otherwise be observed during crises have been suffocated due to the imperative of austerity. Other more optimistic assessments see social investment policies as having been experimented with in various places, alongside widespread retrenchment. In this paper, using an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database for 35 countries, we check these assessments by examining aggregate figures, such as the evolution—over the 2007–13 period—of social spending and its composition, the participation of social spending in public expenditure, the tax burden and tax composition and welfare state effectiveness. We document expansion in the OECD area alongside stable performance. However, important challenges persist.

From Social Investment to Investing in the Social: Insiders’ Perceptions, Experiences, and Expectations

AbstractSocial investment is a policy approach intended to promote the social inclusion of excluded individuals and groups, mainly through labour market participation and long-term human capital development. Since the 1980’s this approach has spread from Europe worldwide and is now regarded as the latest shift from both ‘traditional’ welfare and the unrestrained neoliberal policy implemented under the austerity regime of the last decades. Most social investment studies focus on the social and economic impacts of policy at the macro-level. This article takes a different perspective to examine how members of excluded communities experience social investment policy in their daily lives. The study analyzes qualitative data collected from a purposive sample of 96 participants from excluded communities in the North of Israel. Findings indicate that participants strongly support social investment ideas of inclusion via human capital development and the labour market. However, their experiences in both areas point to continued struggles with social mechanisms that marginalize them and reinforce multigenerational exclusion. Findings affirm critique of social investment when implemented without major structural changes. The study implications for policy suggest that, without such changes, the paradigmatic promises of social investment may further entrench social exclusion by replicating discriminatory and oppressive practices.

Parenthood and social policy preferences: A gender and time sensitive examination

AbstractAttitudes towards social spending and the welfare state have been characterised by one of the longest standing and widest gender gaps. Past research suggests that parenthood deepens this divide further. Yet, the exact relationship between parenthood and support for social policies – and the gendered nature of this process – has been difficult to establish because it can vary across welfare policy areas and the age of the children, which past studies, relying on cross‐sectional data, has found difficult to unravel. Using panel data from the Swiss Household Panel, we examine individual level changes in fathers’ and mothers’ views towards specific welfare state policies. We find that individuals’ support for social spending fluctuates at different stages of parenthood, and that mothers’ demands differ from fathers’ in relation to care related but not in terms of educational spending. This implies that parents are not a homogeneous group that parties could target with uniform electoral pledges. As a result, building widespread electoral support for expanding a broad range of social investment policies is likely to be challenging in a context where, first and foremost, self‐interest appears to drive (or depress) individuals’ support for specific welfare state policies.

Developing family support services: A comparison of national reforms and challenges in England, Ireland and Spain

A major aspect of contemporary European family policies has been substantial developments in ‘family and parenting support services’ albeit under challenging conditions of austerity in recent years. This article compares and reviews national reforms in family support, child welfare and positive parenting services in England, Ireland and Spain. The analysis critically compares national ‘system-wide’ reforms and frontline service-based innovations; and situates these within broader national and European policy contexts. The article examines the degrees and ways in which children’s and family services reforms across all three countries have been shaped by family support, children’s rights and social investment policy orientations; and deliberates national differences in the scope, timing and longevity of reforms. It raises critical issues from rights-based perspectives and reflects on cross-national insights.

Social investment in the knowledge-based economy: new politics and policies

ABSTRACT This themed issue entitled Social Investment in the Knowledge-Based Economy aims to investigate desirable policy packages of social investment for the knowledge-based economy, the interactions between policy and economic inequality, and political and institutional configurations that shape policies. This introduction to our themed issue situates the contribution of the volume in the literature, summarizes the main findings and their implications, and identifies core issues for a future research agenda. We trace the development of the social investment approach over time and across regions, and we explain its logic and the accumulated evidence supporting its importance. We then link our contributions squarely to the transition to the knowledge economy and the concern with innovation, growth, and inequality. We summarize the policy lessons emerging from the individual articles which emphasize specifically the need to treat social investment as complementary to social protection. We also summarize the insights into the politics of generating support coalitions for the introduction of effective social investment policies, emphasizing the leadership role of political parties in shaping both public preferences and legislation. Finally, we outline some key unanswered questions, among them questions regarding the obstacles to major progress in social investment so far and the impact of immigration and party system fragmentation on future progress.

Social Investment Policy, Economic Growth, and Welfare States: Channels of Pro-Growth Effects of Policy

AbstractSocial investment (SI) policies have been popular among industrial countries in the past two decades. Governments hope that SI policies will promote productivity and economic growth by creating high-skill labor forces that can adapt to the imperatives of the new knowledge economy and technological advances, or that can create new technologies themselves. They also hope that SI policies will mitigate new social risks, such as single-parent families and workers in precarious employment by better preparing workers for jobs and promoting social inclusion. However, little research exists that empirically investigates whether or not SI policies really produce these positive outcomes. Of all economic outcomes, this paper focuses on economic growth and the channels of economic growth—multifactor productivity (MFP), physical capital investment, and labor input—and investigates whether SI policies promote growth in GDP and its channels. Data from 17 industrial countries are analyzed. The analysis finds that family support, education, and ALMP spending (all measured as spending per child, student, and an unemployed person, respectively) is positively associated with MFP and GDP growth, and that MFP growth is the main channel through which SI policies enhance GDP growth. Education spending boosts the growth of all of MFP, physical capital stock, labor input, and GDP growth via those channels. While family support does not promote the growth of labor input, the results suggest that larger family support spending leads to higher levels of labor input. Overall, these types of SI spending have generally positive effects on economic growth.

Under pressure: Evolution of the social economy institutional recognition in the EU

AbstractSocial Economy encompasses a wide array of private organizations that can be situated along a continuum that ranges from civil society to the business sector, e.g., associations, foundations, cooperatives, social enterprises, social business initiatives. The social sphere populated by SE/TS organizations operates in complex and multi‐layer environments and is particularly sensitive to institutional configuration. This paper deals with the institutional policy and attitude of the EU Commission towards SE/TS organizations in the field of welfare policy. We start with an illustration of the key features of the Social Investment policy framework, that stresses the adoption of an ‘active policy’ orientation and the overriding of more traditional ‘compensatory policies’. Secondly, we analyze the regulatory eco‐system of the EU towards Social Economy in the last three decades. Thirdly, we present the main results of an European research project aimed at analyzing the ‘level of recognition’ and ‘institutionalization’ of the SE sector in ten European Countries. Then, we provide some data about the consistency of the Social Economy in EU, based on several research reports promoted by European Institutions (EESC). Finally, the main results of the analysis are summarized in order to assess the current conjuncture of the Social Economy sector in Europe.

La certificazione delle competenze come strumento di welfare attivo e inclusivo

This contribution aims to provide a snapshot of the ongoing process of structuring the National System of Competences Certification. Through a multiple case study on Regional Administrations with consolidated experience, together with the con-sultation of key witnesses and through the analysis of reports, the research has the general objective to reflect on the ability of the Regional System of Certification of Competences, to accomplish virtuous pathways of active and inclusive welfare. The reconstruction of structuring regional pathways and the expected impact of this governance system on vocational training and active labor market policies trigger a first level of reflection on a process still in progress. This process concerns, on the one hand, the critical analysis of the impacts of social investment policies and, on the other, almost 20 years after Law 3/2001, the debate on the regional fragmentation of Italian welfare.

Greens in government: the distributive policies of a culturally progressive force

Given the crucial role of Green parties in modern party systems, surprisingly little is known about the impact that Green parties in governments have on distributive issues, on the spending or the revenue side of distributive politics. Providing such insights is the purpose of this study. Based on an encompassing cross-national data set of 34 countries from 1970 to 2015, this article examines the impact of Green government participation on three dimensions of distributive policy making: social consumption, social investment and taxation policies. It is found that the inclusion of Green parties in national governments leads to higher spending on social investment, while the status quo prevails regarding social consumption and taxation. Nonetheless, as procurers of centre-left majorities, Greens in government prevent retrenchment on social consumption and decreasing corporate and top marginal income taxes. This work bears relevance for the study of party politics, the reconfiguration of welfare states and the literature on coalition dynamics.

Dynamic persistence in UK policy making: the evolution of social investment ideas and policy instruments

ABSTRACT Proponents of policy instruments often have to justify them to shifting political masters. This article explores the evolution of social investment, both as a policy solution and a set of policy instruments, during a period characterized by political turbulence. Discourse analysis of texts produced by an instrument constituency shows how a constant set of policy instruments are framed as a changing solution to different political problems. This helps us develop the concept of dynamic persistence, which elaborates how the instrument constituency was able to maintain support for their policy instruments by realigning them to different ideological principles.