Neil Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195140743
- eISBN:
- 9780199834921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140745.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
In the first part of the chapter, views are discussed on the changing arrangements for social protection that have occurred in the last decade of the twentieth century in many, if not all, of the ...
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In the first part of the chapter, views are discussed on the changing arrangements for social protection that have occurred in the last decade of the twentieth century in many, if not all, of the industrialized nations. Some see these changes as a marginal adjustment in the borders of the welfare state, while others perceive the changing landscape of industrialized welfare states as the embodiment of major revisions in the principles and philosophy of social protection. Most welfare state analysts acknowledge that the reforms are spurred by the need for greater labour force adaptability and productivity in a global economy, by concerns on the erosion of individual responsibility, and by new institutional arrangements for social protection involving market competition. The last part of the chapter addresses the two main theories on how welfare states evolve – convergence under the pressures of broad impersonal structural forces, or divergence into distinct regimes responding to human interventions shaped by socio‐political factors.Less
In the first part of the chapter, views are discussed on the changing arrangements for social protection that have occurred in the last decade of the twentieth century in many, if not all, of the industrialized nations. Some see these changes as a marginal adjustment in the borders of the welfare state, while others perceive the changing landscape of industrialized welfare states as the embodiment of major revisions in the principles and philosophy of social protection. Most welfare state analysts acknowledge that the reforms are spurred by the need for greater labour force adaptability and productivity in a global economy, by concerns on the erosion of individual responsibility, and by new institutional arrangements for social protection involving market competition. The last part of the chapter addresses the two main theories on how welfare states evolve – convergence under the pressures of broad impersonal structural forces, or divergence into distinct regimes responding to human interventions shaped by socio‐political factors.
Neil Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195140743
- eISBN:
- 9780199834921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140745.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Over the last decade of the twentieth century, policies for social protection of the unemployed in the advanced industrial world have been reformulated from the provision of income maintenance ...
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Over the last decade of the twentieth century, policies for social protection of the unemployed in the advanced industrial world have been reformulated from the provision of income maintenance (income support), to schemes for getting people back to work. This change has three connected rhetorical themes (a shift from passive to active policies; an emphasis on responsibilities over rights ; and a redefinition of objectives from income maintenance to social inclusion), which are discussed. An account is then given of experiences in the USA on the reform of public assistance. Next, the four most significant dimensions of policy change involved (restricting entrance and accelerating exit; the segmentation of participants; the introduction of contractual obligations; and the formulation of work‐oriented incentives and services) are discussed. The last part of the chapter discusses the legal aspects of implementation of work‐oriented policies, and the accompanying recommodification of labour.Less
Over the last decade of the twentieth century, policies for social protection of the unemployed in the advanced industrial world have been reformulated from the provision of income maintenance (income support), to schemes for getting people back to work. This change has three connected rhetorical themes (a shift from passive to active policies; an emphasis on responsibilities over rights ; and a redefinition of objectives from income maintenance to social inclusion), which are discussed. An account is then given of experiences in the USA on the reform of public assistance. Next, the four most significant dimensions of policy change involved (restricting entrance and accelerating exit; the segmentation of participants; the introduction of contractual obligations; and the formulation of work‐oriented incentives and services) are discussed. The last part of the chapter discusses the legal aspects of implementation of work‐oriented policies, and the accompanying recommodification of labour.
Neil Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195140743
- eISBN:
- 9780199834921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140745.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The four main factors influencing the change from a welfare to an enabling state are discussed. Two of these influences are large‐scale structural changes involving demographic trends and ...
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The four main factors influencing the change from a welfare to an enabling state are discussed. Two of these influences are large‐scale structural changes involving demographic trends and globalization of the economy that generate the kind of impersonal forces that drive the development of the welfare state according to the convergence theory. The other two influences stem from changing ideas and normative views on the consequences of social policies and the appropriate role of the state; these changes animate socio‐political processes that give rise to divergent types of welfare states according to the theory of distinct regimes. The rest of the chapter discusses the changes that accompany the shift from a welfare to an enabling state, and the emergence of new social accounting to accompany the emergence of the alternative framework for social protection.Less
The four main factors influencing the change from a welfare to an enabling state are discussed. Two of these influences are large‐scale structural changes involving demographic trends and globalization of the economy that generate the kind of impersonal forces that drive the development of the welfare state according to the convergence theory. The other two influences stem from changing ideas and normative views on the consequences of social policies and the appropriate role of the state; these changes animate socio‐political processes that give rise to divergent types of welfare states according to the theory of distinct regimes. The rest of the chapter discusses the changes that accompany the shift from a welfare to an enabling state, and the emergence of new social accounting to accompany the emergence of the alternative framework for social protection.
Neil Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195140743
- eISBN:
- 9780199834921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140745.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
An account is given of the movement towards the privatization of social welfare activity that has taken place since the mid 1980s. Various aspects of this are discussed: the different paths that have ...
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An account is given of the movement towards the privatization of social welfare activity that has taken place since the mid 1980s. Various aspects of this are discussed: the different paths that have been taken; public erosion of retirement income; contracting out services from the public to the private sector; the larger trend of devolving responsibility for social welfare from central to local government units, and from local government to community‐based private agencies; the commodification of social care; and private ‘safety net’ accounts.Less
An account is given of the movement towards the privatization of social welfare activity that has taken place since the mid 1980s. Various aspects of this are discussed: the different paths that have been taken; public erosion of retirement income; contracting out services from the public to the private sector; the larger trend of devolving responsibility for social welfare from central to local government units, and from local government to community‐based private agencies; the commodification of social care; and private ‘safety net’ accounts.
Margarita Estevez‐Abe, Torben Iversen, and David Soskice
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199247752
- eISBN:
- 9780191596346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247757.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
Outlines a new approach to the study of the welfare state. Contrary to the emphasis on ‘decommodification’ in the current literature, it is argued that important dimensions of the welfare ...
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Outlines a new approach to the study of the welfare state. Contrary to the emphasis on ‘decommodification’ in the current literature, it is argued that important dimensions of the welfare state—employment protection, unemployment protection, and wage protection—are designed to make workers more willing to invest in firm‐ and industry‐specific skills that increase their dependence on particular employers and their vulnerability to market fluctuations. Workers will only make such risky investments when they have some insurance that their job or income is secure; otherwise, they will invest in general, and therefore portable, skills. In turn, because the skill composition of the work force constrains the set of product‐market strategies that firms can pursue successfully, employers will support social protection that facilitates the set of skills that they need to be competitive in particular international product markets. It shows that the argument is consistent with observed clusters of social protection and skill profiles among OECD countries, and that these clusters are associated with very different distributional outcomes and patterns of gender‐specific labour market segmentation.Less
Outlines a new approach to the study of the welfare state. Contrary to the emphasis on ‘decommodification’ in the current literature, it is argued that important dimensions of the welfare state—employment protection, unemployment protection, and wage protection—are designed to make workers more willing to invest in firm‐ and industry‐specific skills that increase their dependence on particular employers and their vulnerability to market fluctuations. Workers will only make such risky investments when they have some insurance that their job or income is secure; otherwise, they will invest in general, and therefore portable, skills. In turn, because the skill composition of the work force constrains the set of product‐market strategies that firms can pursue successfully, employers will support social protection that facilitates the set of skills that they need to be competitive in particular international product markets. It shows that the argument is consistent with observed clusters of social protection and skill profiles among OECD countries, and that these clusters are associated with very different distributional outcomes and patterns of gender‐specific labour market segmentation.
Herman Schwartz
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297567
- eISBN:
- 9780191600104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297564.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The first of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for identifying who ...
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The first of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for identifying who is likely to fight with whom over what; the authors of the three chapters are not of one mind on this issue. Schwartz, for whom social protection includes regulatory arrangements in sectors such as telecommunications and transportation, is most convinced that some aspects of globalization do play a critical role, and he reviews a series of broad claims about the sources of pressure on the welfare state, arguing that the impact of globalization is often misconstrued. He distinguishes alternative possible causal connections between changes in the international economy and welfare state distress, and, in many cases, finds little evidence for these causal pathways, or evidence that only supports an assessment of modest impact. He argues, however, that one dimension of globalization has been crucial: a wave of deregulatory pressures emanating from changes in the US political economy, which has led to a dramatic erosion of forms of protected employment in the affected sectors of other countries.Less
The first of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for identifying who is likely to fight with whom over what; the authors of the three chapters are not of one mind on this issue. Schwartz, for whom social protection includes regulatory arrangements in sectors such as telecommunications and transportation, is most convinced that some aspects of globalization do play a critical role, and he reviews a series of broad claims about the sources of pressure on the welfare state, arguing that the impact of globalization is often misconstrued. He distinguishes alternative possible causal connections between changes in the international economy and welfare state distress, and, in many cases, finds little evidence for these causal pathways, or evidence that only supports an assessment of modest impact. He argues, however, that one dimension of globalization has been crucial: a wave of deregulatory pressures emanating from changes in the US political economy, which has led to a dramatic erosion of forms of protected employment in the affected sectors of other countries.
Kenneth A. Armstrong
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199278374
- eISBN:
- 9780191594861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278374.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law
This chapter highlights the origins of, and motivations for, EU interventions to combat poverty and social exclusion in the 1980s and 1990s, and contrasts these with the explicit treaty commitments ...
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This chapter highlights the origins of, and motivations for, EU interventions to combat poverty and social exclusion in the 1980s and 1990s, and contrasts these with the explicit treaty commitments to combat social exclusion and new policy objectives of modernizing social protection systems emerging in the late 1990s. The development of the Lisbon strategy in 2000 provided a policy context and matrix for the articulation of these new commitments and objectives with the OMC as the governance tool for their implementation. In detail, the chapter explores the development and institutionalization of the architectural elements of EU social policy coordination, from the adoption of common objectives and indicators, to the production of national action plans, joint reports, and peer reviews. Notwithstanding the absence of more legally-defined processes, what emerged was a highly institutionalized process through recursive interaction of governmental and non-governmental actors.Less
This chapter highlights the origins of, and motivations for, EU interventions to combat poverty and social exclusion in the 1980s and 1990s, and contrasts these with the explicit treaty commitments to combat social exclusion and new policy objectives of modernizing social protection systems emerging in the late 1990s. The development of the Lisbon strategy in 2000 provided a policy context and matrix for the articulation of these new commitments and objectives with the OMC as the governance tool for their implementation. In detail, the chapter explores the development and institutionalization of the architectural elements of EU social policy coordination, from the adoption of common objectives and indicators, to the production of national action plans, joint reports, and peer reviews. Notwithstanding the absence of more legally-defined processes, what emerged was a highly institutionalized process through recursive interaction of governmental and non-governmental actors.
Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American ...
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Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.Less
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Bruno Amable
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199261130
- eISBN:
- 9780191602474
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019926113X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This chapter presents results from cluster analyses of five institutional areas: product-market competition, the labour market, the financial sector, social protection, and the education system. It ...
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This chapter presents results from cluster analyses of five institutional areas: product-market competition, the labour market, the financial sector, social protection, and the education system. It is shown that the clusterings of countries are not necessarily identical to the theoretical typology of capitalism presented in the previous chapter. Usually, one specific institutional area (labour market, welfare state, etc.) is privileged even when others are taken into account, and the typologies derived are partial. Thus, it is necessary to take into account all the possible complementarities between the five institutional areas in order to come to an empirical classification of capitalism.Less
This chapter presents results from cluster analyses of five institutional areas: product-market competition, the labour market, the financial sector, social protection, and the education system. It is shown that the clusterings of countries are not necessarily identical to the theoretical typology of capitalism presented in the previous chapter. Usually, one specific institutional area (labour market, welfare state, etc.) is privileged even when others are taken into account, and the typologies derived are partial. Thus, it is necessary to take into account all the possible complementarities between the five institutional areas in order to come to an empirical classification of capitalism.
Adriana Petryna
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151663
- eISBN:
- 9781400845095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151663.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the “epidemic” of disability in post-Soviet Ukraine, and more specifically how state laws on the social protection of Chernobyl sufferers have turned suffering and disability ...
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This chapter examines the “epidemic” of disability in post-Soviet Ukraine, and more specifically how state laws on the social protection of Chernobyl sufferers have turned suffering and disability into a resource affecting family, work, and social identity. It shows how the line between sickness and health becomes a highly politicized one as traditional forms of Soviet social organization, particularly the labor collective, are being replaced by a new architecture of welfare claims, privileges, laws, and identities. It also discusses the role of the Exclusion Zone in an informal Soviet economy and capitalist transition, as well as the ways in which workers micromanage inflation with a sick role sociality in their everyday lives. Finally, it considers the establishment of medical-labor committees to handle the growing number of disability claims related to the Chernobyl explosion and highlights a city of sufferers where so many individuals have gained their illnesses for life.Less
This chapter examines the “epidemic” of disability in post-Soviet Ukraine, and more specifically how state laws on the social protection of Chernobyl sufferers have turned suffering and disability into a resource affecting family, work, and social identity. It shows how the line between sickness and health becomes a highly politicized one as traditional forms of Soviet social organization, particularly the labor collective, are being replaced by a new architecture of welfare claims, privileges, laws, and identities. It also discusses the role of the Exclusion Zone in an informal Soviet economy and capitalist transition, as well as the ways in which workers micromanage inflation with a sick role sociality in their everyday lives. Finally, it considers the establishment of medical-labor committees to handle the growing number of disability claims related to the Chernobyl explosion and highlights a city of sufferers where so many individuals have gained their illnesses for life.
Emma Carmel, Alfio Cerami, and Theodoros Papadopoulos (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847426444
- eISBN:
- 9781447302797
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847426444.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This book provides insights into one of the most controversial and important subjects of the twenty-first century: migration and social integration. Empirically, it offers comprehensive grounding in ...
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This book provides insights into one of the most controversial and important subjects of the twenty-first century: migration and social integration. Empirically, it offers comprehensive grounding in the relationships between migration, migration policies, and social protection/inclusion in the enlarged European Union and its member states. Theoretically, the collection moves the debate on migration and integration policies into new terrain. It explains how policies in this field are produced by institutional frameworks, political strategy, and contingent responses to events, but that these are themselves shaped by emotions, discourses, narratives, and formal and informal aspects of governance.Less
This book provides insights into one of the most controversial and important subjects of the twenty-first century: migration and social integration. Empirically, it offers comprehensive grounding in the relationships between migration, migration policies, and social protection/inclusion in the enlarged European Union and its member states. Theoretically, the collection moves the debate on migration and integration policies into new terrain. It explains how policies in this field are produced by institutional frameworks, political strategy, and contingent responses to events, but that these are themselves shaped by emotions, discourses, narratives, and formal and informal aspects of governance.
Stefan Dercon
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199276837
- eISBN:
- 9780191601620
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199276838.003.0020
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents a synthesis of the papers included in this volume, focusing on public action to provide insurance against poverty. It discusses the case for public action for enhanced social ...
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This chapter presents a synthesis of the papers included in this volume, focusing on public action to provide insurance against poverty. It discusses the case for public action for enhanced social protection in developing countries, and the form public action should take. It identifies gaps in research on these issues.Less
This chapter presents a synthesis of the papers included in this volume, focusing on public action to provide insurance against poverty. It discusses the case for public action for enhanced social protection in developing countries, and the form public action should take. It identifies gaps in research on these issues.
Stefan Dercon
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199276837
- eISBN:
- 9780191601620
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199276838.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents an overview of the papers included in this volume. It highlights the authors’ rejection of the standard paradigm of mainstream neoclassical economic theory. It briefly discusses ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the papers included in this volume. It highlights the authors’ rejection of the standard paradigm of mainstream neoclassical economic theory. It briefly discusses worldwide efforts to alleviate poverty, the risk and shocks that can worsen the living standards of the poor, institutional programmes aimed at increasing social protection.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the papers included in this volume. It highlights the authors’ rejection of the standard paradigm of mainstream neoclassical economic theory. It briefly discusses worldwide efforts to alleviate poverty, the risk and shocks that can worsen the living standards of the poor, institutional programmes aimed at increasing social protection.
Martin Baldwin-Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199269006
- eISBN:
- 9780191601309
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199269009.003.0017
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
Social protections for immigrants in EU countries are fragmented and tenuous: not only is the variation between countries great but so is the protection afforded in different phases of the immigrant ...
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Social protections for immigrants in EU countries are fragmented and tenuous: not only is the variation between countries great but so is the protection afforded in different phases of the immigrant life cycle for immigrants of different legal statuses and nationalities. European welfare regimes reflect not only citizenship conceptions and other ideologies but also principles of inclusion and exclusion. The relationship of immigrants to welfare systems is either accidental (structural toleration), juridical (international treaties and human rights case law), or ideological (active immigrant policies). These piecemeal adaptations of welfare systems to immigrants are complex and costly to implement, but it is doubtful that European countries will be able to escape their histories of racial exclusion and construct inclusive, market‐based welfare systems.Less
Social protections for immigrants in EU countries are fragmented and tenuous: not only is the variation between countries great but so is the protection afforded in different phases of the immigrant life cycle for immigrants of different legal statuses and nationalities. European welfare regimes reflect not only citizenship conceptions and other ideologies but also principles of inclusion and exclusion. The relationship of immigrants to welfare systems is either accidental (structural toleration), juridical (international treaties and human rights case law), or ideological (active immigrant policies). These piecemeal adaptations of welfare systems to immigrants are complex and costly to implement, but it is doubtful that European countries will be able to escape their histories of racial exclusion and construct inclusive, market‐based welfare systems.
Lawrence Aber, Linda Biersteker, Andrew Dawes, and Laura Rawlings
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199922994
- eISBN:
- 9780199980420
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199922994.003.0013
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
In most countries, the social protection and welfare system is directly responsible for addressing issues of destitution, poverty, and risk management. Currently, an undesirable gap exists between ...
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In most countries, the social protection and welfare system is directly responsible for addressing issues of destitution, poverty, and risk management. Currently, an undesirable gap exists between traditional policies in social protection and the need to make specific provision for early childhood. This chapter helps close this gap, hoping to enhance the interest and ability of social protection systems to effectively address serious constraints on early childhood development (ECD) caused by long-term poverty, income instability, and adverse shocks. Specifically, the chapter describes the recent history and multiple functions of social protection and explains their importance to ECD; identifies critical challenges to and promising practices in closing the gap between social protection and ECD; and analyzes and discusses key issues requiring new research initiatives (research agenda) and/or immediate cross-system collaboration (policy agenda) to advance the capacity of social protection systems to protect and promote ECD.Less
In most countries, the social protection and welfare system is directly responsible for addressing issues of destitution, poverty, and risk management. Currently, an undesirable gap exists between traditional policies in social protection and the need to make specific provision for early childhood. This chapter helps close this gap, hoping to enhance the interest and ability of social protection systems to effectively address serious constraints on early childhood development (ECD) caused by long-term poverty, income instability, and adverse shocks. Specifically, the chapter describes the recent history and multiple functions of social protection and explains their importance to ECD; identifies critical challenges to and promising practices in closing the gap between social protection and ECD; and analyzes and discusses key issues requiring new research initiatives (research agenda) and/or immediate cross-system collaboration (policy agenda) to advance the capacity of social protection systems to protect and promote ECD.
Tanzi Vito
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195179972
- eISBN:
- 9780199850709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179972.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter evaluates the efficiency and compensation hypotheses related to public finance. The findings reveal that many of the factors that have contributed to the growth in public spending over ...
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This chapter evaluates the efficiency and compensation hypotheses related to public finance. The findings reveal that many of the factors that have contributed to the growth in public spending over the past 150 years were not related to globalization and that the faster a country's integration in the world economy, the slower its growth in public spending. The result also suggests that spending on social protection cannot be equated with public spending and that public social spending has been in decline in the 1980s.Less
This chapter evaluates the efficiency and compensation hypotheses related to public finance. The findings reveal that many of the factors that have contributed to the growth in public spending over the past 150 years were not related to globalization and that the faster a country's integration in the world economy, the slower its growth in public spending. The result also suggests that spending on social protection cannot be equated with public spending and that public social spending has been in decline in the 1980s.
Paul Mosley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter asks what kind of institutions will be pro-poor, focusing on the ability of those institutions to deliver access to key markets and services – especially labour, capital, and ...
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This chapter asks what kind of institutions will be pro-poor, focusing on the ability of those institutions to deliver access to key markets and services – especially labour, capital, and agricultural inputs, but also health services and legal services – by poor people. In the case-study countries, this has been achieved not only by the development of new forms of pro-poor expenditure and taxation, as described in the previous chapter, but also by the development of schools and training courses, health centres, physical infrastructure, microfinance institutions, and liaison institutions between the state, the private sector, and the non-governmental sector. Minimizing risk, which is often the main hazard for the poorest people, is also very important. This chapter constructs a ‘pro-poor institutions’ (PPI) index which assesses the ability of institutions in the case study countries to facilitate access by poor people to the markets named above, by analogy with the pro-poor expenditure measures of the previous chapter. This index correlates well with the trend of headcount poverty in this book’s case-study countries.Less
This chapter asks what kind of institutions will be pro-poor, focusing on the ability of those institutions to deliver access to key markets and services – especially labour, capital, and agricultural inputs, but also health services and legal services – by poor people. In the case-study countries, this has been achieved not only by the development of new forms of pro-poor expenditure and taxation, as described in the previous chapter, but also by the development of schools and training courses, health centres, physical infrastructure, microfinance institutions, and liaison institutions between the state, the private sector, and the non-governmental sector. Minimizing risk, which is often the main hazard for the poorest people, is also very important. This chapter constructs a ‘pro-poor institutions’ (PPI) index which assesses the ability of institutions in the case study countries to facilitate access by poor people to the markets named above, by analogy with the pro-poor expenditure measures of the previous chapter. This index correlates well with the trend of headcount poverty in this book’s case-study countries.
Paul Mosley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the ...
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Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the political merit of being targetable on particular interest groups. One pro-poor pathway (represented by Uganda and Indonesia within the study’s sample) orientates expenditure policies towards low-incomerural producers and thus towards green revolution-type policies. A second (represented by Ghana, Argentina, Russia and, after 2006, Bolivia) orientates expenditure policies towards low-income consumers in the urban labour force, motivating a shift of expenditure towards social protection and housing expenditures. Taxation can also be reoriented for political motives towards the poor, as in Uganda, Ghana, Bolivia, and Argentina. However, taxation imposes a political dilemma because it is politically unpopular and the temptation in a weak state is to use aid rather than tax to finance expenditure, which over the long term weakens the state further. The chapter illustrates various ways out of this dilemma, including closing of tax loopholes, user charges, depoliticisation by establishment of an independent revenue authority, and politically imaginative sequencing.Less
Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the political merit of being targetable on particular interest groups. One pro-poor pathway (represented by Uganda and Indonesia within the study’s sample) orientates expenditure policies towards low-incomerural producers and thus towards green revolution-type policies. A second (represented by Ghana, Argentina, Russia and, after 2006, Bolivia) orientates expenditure policies towards low-income consumers in the urban labour force, motivating a shift of expenditure towards social protection and housing expenditures. Taxation can also be reoriented for political motives towards the poor, as in Uganda, Ghana, Bolivia, and Argentina. However, taxation imposes a political dilemma because it is politically unpopular and the temptation in a weak state is to use aid rather than tax to finance expenditure, which over the long term weakens the state further. The chapter illustrates various ways out of this dilemma, including closing of tax loopholes, user charges, depoliticisation by establishment of an independent revenue authority, and politically imaginative sequencing.
Eric Marlier, A.B. Atkinson, Bea Cantillon, and Brian Nolan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348845
- eISBN:
- 9781447303770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348845.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter presents a brief historical account of the development of EU cooperation in social policy from the Treaty of Rome to the re-focused Lisbon Strategy post-March 2005, and the adoption of ...
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This chapter presents a brief historical account of the development of EU cooperation in social policy from the Treaty of Rome to the re-focused Lisbon Strategy post-March 2005, and the adoption of new working arrangements and revised objectives for the Open Method of Coordination on social protection and social inclusion in March 2006, leading up to the proposed designation of 2010 as the ‘European Year of combating poverty and social exclusion’.Less
This chapter presents a brief historical account of the development of EU cooperation in social policy from the Treaty of Rome to the re-focused Lisbon Strategy post-March 2005, and the adoption of new working arrangements and revised objectives for the Open Method of Coordination on social protection and social inclusion in March 2006, leading up to the proposed designation of 2010 as the ‘European Year of combating poverty and social exclusion’.
Herbert Obinger, Peter Starke, Julia Moser, Claudia Bogedan, Edith Gindulis, and Stephan Leibfried
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199296323
- eISBN:
- 9780191700774
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296323.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Welfare state change in Switzerland during the last thirty years has clearly not been as radical as in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Swiss system of social protection has been substantially modified ...
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Welfare state change in Switzerland during the last thirty years has clearly not been as radical as in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Swiss system of social protection has been substantially modified since the early 1970s. All major programmes have been altered, some even fundamentally, resulting in a shift from a ‘liberal’ welfare state regime to one that has the closest affinities to the conservative model. Furthermore, the Swiss welfare state went from being one of the lowest spending welfare states in the OECD to one of the highest. The extent of change is particularly remarkable given the dense political structure and the high number of veto players within the Swiss political system. Switzerland is characterized by a strong vertical and horizontal fragmentation of power so that all major political parties and interest groups are incorporated into the political decision-making process.Less
Welfare state change in Switzerland during the last thirty years has clearly not been as radical as in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Swiss system of social protection has been substantially modified since the early 1970s. All major programmes have been altered, some even fundamentally, resulting in a shift from a ‘liberal’ welfare state regime to one that has the closest affinities to the conservative model. Furthermore, the Swiss welfare state went from being one of the lowest spending welfare states in the OECD to one of the highest. The extent of change is particularly remarkable given the dense political structure and the high number of veto players within the Swiss political system. Switzerland is characterized by a strong vertical and horizontal fragmentation of power so that all major political parties and interest groups are incorporated into the political decision-making process.
