Development Of Welfare State Research Articles

BUSINESS AND THE NORDIC WELFARE STATES, 1890-1970

Social scientists have, since the 1990s, shown an increasing interest in the role of business actors in welfare state development, and these debates provide many opportunities for historians of the Nordic countries to contribute with their insights and findings. This special issue brings together six historical studies on the role of business in the development of the welfare states in the Nordic countries, including the role of firms as providers of company welfare as well as the activities of firms and of business interest groups to influence policies and public opinion. Two observations stand out. First, the contributions draw a picture of a gradual shift in this period from that of fundamental opposition, which often dominated up to the mid-20th century, to a more pragmatic approach of cooperation. Cooperation in policy-making co-existed with confrontation in public debate, in which business interest groups promoted alternatives to ‘big government’. Second, these studies underline the value of paying attention to what Reinhart Koselleck called ‘horizons of expectations’. These historical studies show how the vocabulary of the actors changed in this period, and how business interest groups not only influenced political decisions but also adapted their expectations to changes in the political context.

Business, labour and the costs of welfare state development

This article presents a novel explanation for instances of business support for welfare state expansion. It emphasizes the importance of cost considerations in shaping business preferences and argues that their willingness to support and ability to oppose demands for increases in the generosity of social insurance programmes depends primarily on the extent to which labour unions accept that these increases are to be financed by workers themselves. Based on a comparative-historical analysis of postwar welfare state development in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the article shows that this willingness among others depended on the type of labour market risk, the margin for pay increases, and the extent to which social welfare initiatives were perceived as actual improvements to the social wage by labour unions.

A Race to the Middle: The Politics of Interstate Cost Distribution and Welfare State Expansion

Previous research on welfare state development in federal states has claimed that interstate competition induces a race to the bottom with regard to social expenditure. While existing research has focused on the impact of migration inflows of poor households on states with high provision of social expenditure, it has remained silent with regard to migration outflows. In this article, I argue that migration outflows are associated with increased social expenditure if eligibility restrictions for social benefits between states are relaxed. Facing outflows of workers and the unemployed, low-spending states respond with increases in social expenditure to retain a sufficient workforce and counteract rising wage levels. As a result, states with higher levels of outward migration are catching up with more generous states instead of engaging in a race to the bottom. To support my claim, I use a time-series cross-sectional data set of Swiss cantons covering the period 1930–75.

Трансформация системы высшего образования и перспективные риски для социального государства в РФ

The study discusses the welfare state development in the Russian Federation. The type of the welfare state depends on the long historical evolution of the state as an institution, its adaptation to changes in social relations in the industrial society. The welfare state was founded because of the need to fend off new social risks that did not exist in the agrarian society. Any society is capable of being a system that passes through certain stages of its development and interacts with the environment. While developing, society regularly finds itself in risky and unstable situations. Risk is an immanent feature of a complex and dynamic society. In the authors’ opinion, the Russian model of the welfare state was strongly affected by the rental economy. A nascent crisis of the rental economy is demanding the country’s transition to innovative ways of development. However, the transition has not still been the reality because of many reasons. They include the crisis of the domestic education system incapable of proper interacting with the rental economy. The decisions to reduce state-financed university admissions which have been taken over the past ten years can generate both economic problems and societal risks. These risks can block the development of the welfare state in the Russian Federation for the next decade.

Ethnicity Coding Revisited: Right‐Wing Parties as Catalysts for Mobilization Against Immigrant Welfare Rights

Ethnicity coding means that threat‐based views of ethnic minority members spur opposition to specific welfare programmes. To advance knowledge of the influence of political parties on ethnicity coding, we apply a dynamic approach. Longitudinal analyses show that: a) because right‐wing political parties persistently frame state pensions as benefitting native majority members, a perceived ethnic threat increases support for this welfare scheme, and b) a perceived ethnic threat reduces support for social assistance when right‐wing political parties frame it as favouring immigrants. Extending these findings, we show that opposition to immigrant welfare rights prompts electoral realignment, as left‐wing voters increasingly switch to right‐wing parties. More generally, political parties are capable of stimulating opposition to parts of the welfare state, including electoral mobilization against immigrant welfare rights. We utilize unusually rich mass‐level survey data from Denmark, covering a 25‐year period (1990‒2015). The broader implications of our findings for theories of ethnicity coding, political elite persuasion, and welfare state development are discussed in the conclusion.

Coming to Europe: American Exceptionalism and American Migrants’ Adaption to Comprehensive Welfare States

The United States has not developed a comprehensive welfare state, unlike most other Western countries. This has been subject to a number of different interpretations. One of the prominent theories is that Americans carry a special creed of individuality and liberty that can be traced back to the establishment of the American nation-state. This cultural “American exceptionalism” is argued to be a hindrance to welfare state development in the past as well as in the future. The article challenges this cultural essentialist interpretation by comparing the attitudes toward government responsibility for welfare policies among first-generation American migrants living in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark to Americans living in the United States. The article finds, using propensity score matching, that the Americans exposed to the institutional context of Northern European welfares states are more supportive of governmental responsibility for the sick, pensioners, and the unemployed and redistribution than are the American control group members.

State philanthropy: The demise of charitable organisations in Botswana

Background: Charitable organisations just like other constituents of the civil society are a vital partner to the governments. Charities provide essential services that positively impact the lives of citizens. Some charities have lobbying functions and the considerable international influence necessary to facilitate social change. Their contribution to the economic, social and political sectors of a nation is widely recognised and governments are expected to create the circumstances in which charities would continue to flourish and fulfil their obligations. However, the quest by charities to partner with governments has always proved inexplicably uneasy and full of twists and turns.Aim: This study conducted a literature review hypothesising that while the Botswana state will continue to play a role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens, strong state involvement in charity work fundamentally strikes at the very heart of the life of charitable organisations.Setting: This study conducted a review of literature on charities in Botswana positing that while charities are expected to work without direct governmental involvement, many have been subjected to state regulation and crippling state control measures. In the context of a developmental welfare state such as Botswana which has lately acquired a philanthropic character, it is argued that charitable organisations are increasingly becoming irrelevant and risk losing public trust that undergirds their core mandate of relieving suffering and providing essential services. A consequence of this would be a return to a stronger state that leaves little room for non-state actors to effectively influence social change.Methods: This study conducted a review of literature on the operations of charities in Botswana in comparison with international practices in order to dissect similarities and abnormalities that have a bearing in the legitimate and universal mandate of Botswana’s charitable organisations.Results: Three key issues emerged from this study. First, it has been discovered state philanthropy threatens to render charities obsolete. Secondly, it has been discovered that most charities have allowed themselves to operate as extended arm of the state hence are dependent on the state for their operations. As corollary of the preceding discoveries, the study maintains that for their survival, Botswana charities must recalibrate and reposition themselves in order to remain relevant.Conclusion: The article concludes that widespread state philanthropy championed by the Head of State threatens to relegate and render charitable organisations virtually irrelevant and redundant unless they re-engineer themselves.

Majoritarian systems, rural groups, and (arrested) welfare state development

While some scholars suggest that rural groups contribute to welfare state expansion, we highlight their incentives to restrain it. The ability of rural groups to achieve this preference hinges on their power resources, but also on the electoral system. We propose that in majoritarian systems, rural groups can often veto welfare legislation. In proportional systems this is less feasible, even for resource-rich groups. Instead, agrarian groups sometimes accept welfare legislation in return for other policy-concessions in post-electoral bargaining. We illustrate the argument with British and Norwegian historical experiences, and test the implications using panel data from 96 democracies. We find evidence that resourceful agrarian groups effectively arrest welfare state development in majoritarian systems, but not in proportional systems. As expected, the electoral system matters less for welfare state expansion when agrarian groups are weak. The results are robust to using alternative estimators, measures, samples and model specifications.

Majoritarian systems, rural groups, and (arrested) welfare state development

While some scholars suggest that rural groups contribute to welfare state expansion, we highlight their incentives to restrain it. The ability of rural groups to achieve this preference hinges on t...

Social Policy in Mexico and Argentina

This paper is a comparison between two programs implemented to combat poverty in Latin America: Prospera (Prosper) in Mexico and AsignaciA³n Universal por Hijo (Universal Assignment for Child) in Argentina. The first section offers a review of the emergence of the welfare state, examining economic and urban development in both countries and the underlying trends of social policy instruments. The analysis is based on the political nature of social problems and the actions undertaken to confront them. The paper offers a theoretical perspective, often questioning the very foundation of the social policy that serves as the main framework for the social programs, in order to present the policies' scope, successes, and disadvantages with reference to social equity and the well-being of their participants.

Gone with the Crisis? A multilevel analysis of economy, welfare, and national identity in Europe

The development of the modern welfare state has been accompanied by an extension of economic, political, and social rights that created a sense of group belonging that then led to national solidarity. Our results show that the impact of the Great Recession cannot be rejected, and therefore that there is a rational-instrumental dimension to national identities that should not however be taken independently of cultural and political dimensions, and that must also be understood from a sociological point of view.

Taking the initiative: Direct democracy, coalition governments and welfare state expansion:

Direct democratic rights are increasingly adopted around the world. However, what are the consequences of the introduction of initiative and referendum rights for welfare state development? The exi...

Taking the initiative: Direct democracy, coalition governments and welfare state expansion

Direct democratic rights are increasingly adopted around the world. However, what are the consequences of the introduction of initiative and referendum rights for welfare state development? The existing literature holds a pessimistic view on the role of direct democracy for welfare state development and generosity. Whereas referendums are argued to constitute a major roadblock to the extension of social expenditure, the link between initiatives and social security provision is unclear. I contribute to the existing literature by arguing that the effect of direct democratic instruments on welfare state extension is systematically related to the political environment. More precisely, I contend that governments with a few parties deviate from the median voter preference by providing insufficient social expenditure, whereas the opposite is true in settings with many governing parties. In both cases, voters employ direct legislation to correct for the spending behaviour of governments. Using time-series cross-sectional data on social expenditure in the Swiss cantons from 1930 to 2000, I show that initiatives and referendums constrain social expenditure growth in settings with many governing parties, but expand it when a few parties are in government.

The Golden Age of Tax Expenditures: Fiscal Welfare and Inequality in Portugal (1989–2011)

ABSTRACTThis paper studies social tax expenditures as an instrument of social policy, considering its broader social and political ramifications, particularly regressive distributive impacts, the targeting of social protection and making markets for non-state providers. Using OECD data and government budgets, we look at ‘tax breaks for social purposes’ in Portugal since the 1980s, with a focus on healthcare, educational and mortgage loan expenses. Portugal presents a comparatively high level of TBSP before the Great Recession. Why? Using Portugal as a theory-developing case, the paper argues that in the critical juncture following the late, double transition to democracy and structural economic reform, tax and welfare state developments combined to create social tax expenditures as a modality of targeted social expenditure favouring middle and higher strata. Once in place, a combination of powerful vested interests, obscure policy-making, regressive income distribution and high take-up rate across taxpaying groups obtained a path-dependent outcome, keeping inegalitarian and costly fiscal welfare growing during adverse fiscal conditions. Such a resilient outcome was curbed only in 2011 by the harsh conditionality of the economic and financial adjustment programme of the Portuguese bailout, an instance of how deep crises provide opportunities for path-shifting reconfigurations of social policy.

A caring welfare state in South Korea: challenges and prospects

The purpose of this article is to examine the implications of care ethics in a Korean welfare state. It shows how Confucianism, developmentalism and neoliberalism can both promote and restrict the establishment of a Korean caring welfare state. Despite the fact that these Korean contexts can either support or undercut the development of a caring welfare state, it is clear that none of these contexts places particular importance on the value of care and care relationships. In the Confucian and neoliberal contexts, care is a family or private issue, while developmentalism fails to appreciate care due to its prioritisation of economic development.

The Future of the Slovenian Welfare State: A View from Deliberative Forums

European states are facing challenges how to successfully restructure their welfare systems in times of numerous external and internal pressures, among them especially the demographic pressure and the impact of global economic crisis. Slovenia was one of European countries that were hit hardest by the crisis in 2009. Likewise, Slovenia is facing severe challenges regarding population ageing. In the paper, we are interested in people’s attitudes toward the existing welfare policies, as well as their preferences for the future development of the Slovenian welfare state and whether the implemented policies differ from people’s attitudes taking into account the potential trade-offs between the social protection paradigm on one side and the social investment paradigm on the other. The analysis utilised data gathered with the method of deliberative forums that were carried out in 2015. Deliberative forums allow a ‘bottom-up’ approach to research. Our analysis shows that there is a discrepancy between ordinary citizens’ expectations for the future development of the Slovenian welfare state and the actual direction of the reforms, which could become one of the most salient issues for the legitimacy of the future Slovenian welfare state.

Social impulses of the Reformation and their importance for the development of the welfare state: Comments from the perspective of the study of Diaconia

Religious traditions had great influence on fundamental concepts of social orders and on the motivations for sociopolitical action. Calvinism is known for its important impulses for the emergence of the capitalist economic system and the resultant welfare state development. Martin Luther’s influence was disregarded for a long time, but has been rediscovered in the last two decades. This article takes a closer look at Luther’s ideas for the social development in the 16th century. Luther laid the ground for socio-theological conceptions, which were later on influential in the shaping of modern welfare states. In this regard, Scandinavian welfare states can serve as an example because their Lutheran background has not yet been sufficiently taken into account; however, Scandinavian countries were among the first to create welfare states that took over responsibility for socio-political matters.

Failing on the social dimension: judicial law-making and student mobility in the EU

ABSTRACTNational welfare states and free movement rights are in tension in the European Union (EU). Yet, despite potential free-riding dynamics, fully developed welfare states appear remarkably resilient. Two explanations can account for this in the literature: institutional heterogeneity of welfare states leads to differential impact of free movement, and contained compliance with EU legal obligations means that non-discrimination provisions exist mainly on paper. By example of higher education and student financial maintenance, we show that under adverse conditions, free movement rights need exceptions to not undermine national welfare. Moreover, the incapacity of the European Court of Justice to provide clear and stringent guidelines in regards to EU students’ access to student benefits, confronts potential beneficiaries with significant legal uncertainty. This introduces new inequalities among EU students. Our analysis shows the limits of judge-made law in furthering social justice.

Retrenchment of Social Policy by Other Means: A Comparison of Agricultural and Housing Policy in Turkey

In many low- and middle-income countries, conventional welfare state institutions provide social protection only for the formally employed. In contrast, the rural and urban poor are often protected by “social policy by other means”. Based on a comparative analysis of two major unconventional welfare programs in Turkey, agricultural state support and access to squatter housing, this article explains retrenchment of social policy by other means. Agricultural retrenchment was the result of coercive policy transfer from international organizations in a post-crisis context, while the retrenchment of squatter housing was driven by domestic political entrepreneurs responding to decreases in the availability of urban land and the number of informal squatters. In both cases, retrenchment became politically sustainable due to functional replacement with more conventional welfare programs. This analysis challenges the narrow focus of mainstream welfare state research, provides an explanation of retrenchment of social policy by other means, and enhances our understanding of Turkey’s uneven welfare state development.

Трансформация правящего класса в западном обществе

The article focuses on the analysis of the main factors of transformation of the ruling class in western societies. The modern ruling class is different from ruling classes in previous times: its social structure includes not only owners of means of production but also social strata, which do not possess means of ownership. The author distinguishes the main reasons for evolution of the ruling class – processes of blurring difference between owners and non-owners, development of welfare state, transition to innovative type of an owner and globalization. These processes make social structure of the ruling class in the modern western societies more complex. That is why the modern ruling class is not homogeneous. Within this class, different groups of interest interact, often in controversial forms, and such interaction reflects tension in the modern time. The main feature of modern ruling class is the process of differentiation, which produces a nation state oriented segment and a transnational (global) one. Sustainable activity of the modern ruling class mainly depends on being able to get consensus between its national and global groups.