Spanish Welfare State Research Articles

The Elderly Bias of the Spanish Welfare State (1958–2012)

Abstract The Spanish welfare state is strongly biased toward sustaining the elderly’s welfare, rather than children’s. We study the evolution of that bias since 1958 through National Transfer Accounts (NTA). NTA disentangle how people produce, consume, and save along their life cycle, and how resources move among generations through different mechanisms (families, markets, and governments). We extend the available NTA (2000–2012) to the past and show that Spanish social policies were biased toward the elderly since their early stages. The gradual increase in social expenditure and the aging of Spanish society have turned such bias into a serious challenge for the economy.

Формирование и функционирование социального государства в Испании

The article presents the history of the Spanish social support system development from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the XXI century. The purpose of the article is to analyze the background and features of the Spanish social policy. To study the development of the Spanish welfare state, the article uses the comparative historical approach and the analysis of institutions, legal documents and statistical data. The experience of Spain and other countries is compared, approaches to the typology of social policy are considered, economic factors and transformations of support measures and principles of redistribution are analyzed. Despite the fact that some trends manifested in Spain earlier than in other countries, the Spanish welfare state formed relatively late. The country has developed a unique configuration of social support, combining the German logic of a corporatist approach with a British universalist one. The Spanish experience of organizational decisions in the field of social policy is of interest, since Spain is facing the problem of an aging population against a background of persistently high unemployment creating serious pressure on the social system, which retains its functionality due to a periodic revision of priorities.

The Spanish Welfare State: Assessment and Prospects

El artículo tiene como objetivo describir el estado del bienestar español y valorar sus problemas y perspectivas. La descripción de sus características, basada en una comparativa con los países europeos, permite identificar pautas similares a las de otros estados del bienestar meridionales, con una importante subsidiariedad respecto a la familia y una orientación hacia la protección de la población de mayor edad.

From coal not to ashes but to what? As Pontes, social memory and the concentration problem

Focusing on the case of As Pontes, Spain, where coal mine production intensified rapidly in the 1970s through to the 1990s, we contribute to the literature on resource towns, and on boom and bust communities more generally. Here, mining was contested throughout the boom period, eroding the local economy and reducing social cohesion among residents. The effects of the subsequent bust were buffered by the Spanish welfare state, and by a power plant, which now imports coal, but still employed some locals. Despite As Pontes’ problematic past and present situation, which is marked by relative stability and prosperity, we still find deep nostalgia and community features usually observed in places where the boom provoked less resistance and the bust was more dramatic. A rigid ‘industrial’ identity started to structure governance post-mining; nostalgia for the ‘good’ times dominated. In our analysis of developments at As Pontes, we apply the concept of ‘concentration problem’, in an attempt to shed light on features of governance in resource towns and difficulties in local ‘reinvention’ mode, and develop the idea further by linking it to an erasure of infrastructures of memory.

Gender and informal social support in Spanish culture

This paper analyses informal social support as a relevant factor in the process of maintaining the Spanish welfare state. There has been considerable theoretical discussion but little empirical work done to determine the factors that influence the provision of this type of support. More specifically, this article explores the factors that determine the provision of informal social aid in Spanish society at the beginning of the twenty-first century.Using data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), we examine three kinds of informal social support offered by the Spanish: emotional, domestic and economical. The form of aid they offer most frequently is emotional support. Gender has a significant impact on emotional and domestic support, although we do not observe a gender effect in the case of economic support.

A Difficult Consensus: The Making of the Spanish Welfare State

Before 1977, the Spanish government was unable (or unwilling) to increase taxation to finance new social programs. As an alternative to this lack of fiscal capacity, Spanish policy makers in the early 20th century promoted contributive social insurance schemes (mostly financed from employers’ and employees’ contributions). To avoid social conflict in rural areas, rural laborers were also included in these programs. This, however, generated strong business opposition, especially from rural landowners and small-sized, labor intensive businesses (which were predominant in Spain). With the advent of democracy in 1931 new social plans were devised, but redistribution demands focused on land reform. After the Spanish civil war, Franco’s dictatorship consolidated a conservative social insurance model. Social benefits were kept very low and funding relied on employers’ and employees’ compulsory contributions. Labor movement repression and trade protectionism allowed companies to easily transfer the cost of social insurance to wages and consumer prices. The introduction of income tax, after the restoration of democracy in 1977, gave way to a new social protection model. Tax-funded, non-contributory programs increased and social protection was extended to those without stable ties to the labor market. By 1977 wage dispersion had replaced property incomes concentration -particularly land ownership- as the main source of income inequality, and demands for tax-and-transfer redistribution replaced 1930s expropriation demands. Social spending growth, however, stagnated after the signing of the Maastricht treaty, before Spain reached the European levels.

La deriva punitiva del Estado espa�ol: la criminalizaci�n de la protesta

After the crisis of 2008, the deterioration of the Spanish welfare State had as a response a rise of demonstrations accompanied by the emergence of new social movements and new forms of protest. Faced with this new situation, the response of the authorities has been translated in the repression and criminalization of protest, culminating with the expansion and strengthening of the State punitive apparatus through the approval of the reform of the Criminal Code and the new Citizen Security Law, in force since the year 2015. Thus, the protest stands as “symbolic enemy” of neoliberalism.

Interpretando la emigración de los jóvenes españoles en un contexto de crisis económica

Este artículo trata sobre los efectos de la crisis económica en la movilidad internacional de los jóvenes españoles desde una perspectiva crítica. Las dificultades para encontrar empleo derivadas de la crisis económica han propiciado un cambio sin precedentes en la movilidad internacional de los jóvenes españoles. Los resultados recogidos en este artículo apuntan a un relativo declive de la población joven debido a la reducción de la fecundidad y a la creciente movilidad de los jóvenes, hecho que por un lado ha generado un gran ruido mediático y por otro puede tener consecuencias futuras para la sostenibilidad del Estado de bienestar en España.

Are Social Services equally accessible to all citizens in Spain? Youth and the Spanish Welfare State

Young people are a central target of social policies. In the Spanish case, we will take into consideration the European context, as our regulations and our programmes are integrated into the main European Union policy guidelines for young people. In the European Union, the participation of young people in designing and managing such policies through social services is considered a priority. However, social spending on youth in Europe is limited, and even more so in the countries of southern Europe. In this paper we analyse the available data on social services activities targeted on Spanish youth. Our findings show the decreasing importance youth play in social policies in a context where the family has become the main provider of resources.

Guillén, Ana Maria; Leòn, Margarita (eds.). The Spanish welfare state in European context. Aldershot, Ashgate, 2011. 322 pp. ISBN 978‐1‐4094‐0293‐0.

International Social Security ReviewVolume 67, Issue 1 p. 121-125 Book Review Ana Maria Guillén; Leòn Margarita (eds.). The Spanish welfare state in European context. Aldershot, Ashgate, 2011. 322 pp. ISBN 978-1-4094-0293-0. Hedva Sarfati, Hedva Sarfati Independent Consultant Geneva, SwitzerlandSearch for more papers by this author Hedva Sarfati, Hedva Sarfati Independent Consultant Geneva, SwitzerlandSearch for more papers by this author First published: 17 March 2014 https://doi.org/10.1111/issr.12033Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume67, Issue1January‐March 2014Pages 121-125 RelatedInformation

The Spanish Welfare State in European Context

The Spanish Welfare State in European Context

Redefining the dynamics of intergenerational family solidarity in spain

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the dynamics of family solidarity in Spain. The existing literature so far has defined the Spanish caring model as familistic due to the primacy of the family in the protection of dependants. However, this article shows that recent data on Spaniards' preferences concerning the care of their family dependents might question the sustainability of the bases of such model. This is consistent with the results of the OASIS Project, according to which societal changes may be leading to family care becoming less duty-driven and more dependent on personal affection and attachment. 11. The five-country (Norway, England, Germany, Spain and Israel) OASIS study collected data from representative, age-stratified, urban-community samples of about 1200 respondents in each country. The Spanish welfare state is labelled as familistic because family makes up for the lack of public benefits dampening adverse economic cycles and the problems of its more fragile members: children, young people and, especially, the elderly. Family solidarity is considered beneficial because it contains public spending and generates positive effects of solidarity and security in the population. Moreover, the expectations of the dependent elderly are focused on family, not on social services that always have been scarce in Spain and they are worsening with the economic crisis. But the Spanish welfare state based on familist values appears to be increasingly ineffective and more difficult to sustain. This article explains how changes in family structure and dynamics, along with the high rates of female labour force that Spain has recently achieved, affect family caregiving preferences and strategies.

Nursing Facing the Loss of the Right to Universal Health Access in Spain

Since 1986, universal access to the National Health Service (NHS) is considered a human right in Spain. Informed by the principle of distributive justice (Boutain 2012), the objective of the NHS is to ensure equal access to health care resources for all citizens and residents. The NHS is one of the most important elements of the Spanish welfare state; however, this model has limitations in protecting the most vulnerable of the population due to structural factors of social inequality (gender, social class, and ethnicity, among others) (Mackenbach 2012) and the organization of the health system (e.g., people with a history of alcoholism have difficulty accessing a liver transplant). The current Spanish government has adopted a powerful neoliberal discourse of austerity with respect to public services as the unique solution to the current economic crisis. This policy has increased the difficulty in accessing the NHS at all levels of the population, with the greatest impact on the most disadvantaged sectors of society (elderly, unemployed, poor, illegal immigrants, etc.) (Bover et al. 2011). The aforementioned rapid and mandated changes are producing enormous moral tensions among Spanish health care professionals. A case such as Mr. Jones as presented by Nivens and Buelow (2013) was inconceivable in Spain a few months ago. The Spanish health system is undergoing a sudden transition from an imperfect model of distributive justice to a model of market justice in which health is considered an economic good regulated by market rules (Boutain 2012). Since then, health professionals have reacted to this new moral problem with diverse, but usual attitudes (Davis, Tschudin, and de Raeve 2006; Guerra 2008). Some of them show moral blindness since they do not recognize the problem; others show moral complacency explained by their inability to change the situation. Finally, some professionals show moral distress when they perceive a clash between their professional values and the values of the institutional/political system. LikeMr. Jones’ nurse, Spanish nurses have had limited success when trying to cope with these unjust situations. Even the most committed and sensitive professionals barely attain an ethical minimum when working within this new reality. The deterioration of Mr. Jones’ health is not only unjust Bioethical Inquiry (2013) 10:421–422 DOI 10.1007/s11673-013-9459-2

Rompiendo la hucha familiar: Estado de Bienestar y Familia en España, en un escenario de crisis sistémica [Breaking the family piggy bank: The Welfare State and families in Spain, in a situation of systemic crisis

La situación de crisis sistémica que se viene desarrollando desde 2008 ha puesto de manifiesto las debilidades del Estado de Bienestar español. La masiva destrucción de puestos de trabajo y la precarización del empleo han dado lugar al incremento de las demandas sobre las instituciones (Sabater y Andrés, 2010). Sin embargo, debido a sus características, de nuevo son los agentes informales, especialmente la familia, los que están siendo el dique de contención de unos efectos aún más negativos de la crisis, no siendo un hecho coyuntural sino estructural. Pero la crisis puede dar lugar a que diferentes aspectos de la solidaridad familiar no se desarrollen en futuras generaciones, lo que nos lleva a reflexionar sobre el propio devenir del Estado de Bienestar español y el papel que juega la familia en su configuración.

Book Review: The Spanish Welfare State in European Context

Book Review: The Spanish Welfare State in European Context

La protección social de los inmigrantes no comunitarios

The presence in Spain of nearly three million inmigrants, the vast majority of them coming from poor developing countries, creates social challenges of considerable scope. One of them is their integration into our current social protection system. In other words how their social rights are being materialized and how are taking place possible ways of social exclusion. This paper analyses the theoretic and institutional setting in order to understand the integration of non European immigrants on our Spanish Welfare State with special reference to the process of accessibility to health system and personal social services. Lastly, it evaluates any possible breaks and exclusion on this process of social integration.

Decentralization and welfare reform in Andalusia

Decentralization of the Spanish welfare state has stimulated regional policy innovation. A ‘demonstration effect’ among all Spanish Comunidades Autónomas has so far acted as a policy equalizer. In Andalusia, where a strong sense of common identity is widely shared, the regional government (Junta) has implemented new welfare policies which have contributed to consolidate its institutional legitimacy. This article reviews the process of decentralization in Spain. It concentrates on the ‘catching up’ quest articulated by Andalusia to gain a similar status and degree of autonomy as those achieved by the ‘historical nationalities’ (Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia).

The EU’s Impact on the Spanish Welfare State: The Role of Cognitive Europeanization

This article assesses to what extent the enlargement of the EU towards Spain has impacted the reform of social policies up to the present. Despite the fact that the norms issued by the European Union regarding the regulation of social-protection policies is scant, becoming a member of such a supranational institution can be expected to have influenced the redesign of welfare states either directly or indirectly, thus contributing to the overcoming of path dependence. The article analyses the influence of EU accession on both procedural and substantive aspects, i.e. on the policy-making process and institutional remodelling, and on the design and content of social policies respectively. The article discusses the influence of the EU as compared to that of domestic politics and other international organizations on the redesign of the Spanish welfare state. It concludes that a significant process of ‘cognitive Europeanization’ may be ascertained.

Quantifying the Impact of Immigration on the Spanish Welfare State

The Spanish population will experience a significant aging in the coming years. This demographic change will impose a heavy burden on the national budget. In particular, expenditure on pensions and health care will grow much faster than productivity. Some authors believe that immigration could alleviate the fiscal burden on future generations by making the Spanish population younger. We use the methodology of Generational Accounting to quantify the impact of immigration on the Spanish Welfare State, by simulating alternative scenarios according to different quotas of immigrants. Our results suggest that immigration could have a positive and significant effect

Towards the Individualization of Social Rights: Hidden Familialistic Practices in Spanish Social Policy

The article evaluates how gender issues have been conceptualized in the development and consolidation of Spanish social policy and specifically, in the social protection system. Transformations in social policy from the Franco regime to the present have been informed by shifts in the understanding of familialism, considered as a dimension of variation in social provision centred on the family and women's unpaid work. Conservative-corporatist in its origins, the Spanish welfare state initially displayed features of a typical male-breadwinner model. Since democratization, there have been significant moves away from the original type, with many changes driven by concerns for gender equality. Familialism, no longer the ideology behind welfare policies, is reinforced in practice through certain welfare programmes, chiefly the social security system, and persists at the level of social organization. Spanish ‘familialism’ is distinctively different from the continental model but remarkably consistent with that of other south European countries.