Carl-Ulrik Schierup
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198280521
- eISBN:
- 9780191603730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280521.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter examines EU policies concerning social exclusion, migrant integration, labour migration, and asylum in the early 21st century. A two-pronged approach analyzes EU efforts in the realm of ...
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This chapter examines EU policies concerning social exclusion, migrant integration, labour migration, and asylum in the early 21st century. A two-pronged approach analyzes EU efforts in the realm of migrant integration together with its interventions in the area of immigration and asylum. A new anti-discrimination orientation is being turned into mandatory EU directives and EU-sponsored transnational development programmes, but this reorientation towards diversity, social inclusion, and equal opportunity is part of a new European Social Model, which is conditioned by a neo-liberal policy dynamic. The contours of the EU’s modernized Social Model are those of a post-national workfare regime. This has critical implications for the transformation of the frameworks of citizenship marking the post-war European welfare states in general, and the incorporation of immigrants and ethnic minorities in European societies in particular. The first part of the chapter explores the changing conditionality posed by the neo-liberal turn and changing frameworks of citizenship with regard to the inclusion of resident denizens and citizens with migrant background. That is, it focuses on the actual condition of being a citizen. The second half of the chapter discusses the changing conditions for becoming (or not becoming) a citizen, framed by a newly emerging supranational political economy of border control, migration management, and asylum.Less
This chapter examines EU policies concerning social exclusion, migrant integration, labour migration, and asylum in the early 21st century. A two-pronged approach analyzes EU efforts in the realm of migrant integration together with its interventions in the area of immigration and asylum. A new anti-discrimination orientation is being turned into mandatory EU directives and EU-sponsored transnational development programmes, but this reorientation towards diversity, social inclusion, and equal opportunity is part of a new European Social Model, which is conditioned by a neo-liberal policy dynamic. The contours of the EU’s modernized Social Model are those of a post-national workfare regime. This has critical implications for the transformation of the frameworks of citizenship marking the post-war European welfare states in general, and the incorporation of immigrants and ethnic minorities in European societies in particular. The first part of the chapter explores the changing conditionality posed by the neo-liberal turn and changing frameworks of citizenship with regard to the inclusion of resident denizens and citizens with migrant background. That is, it focuses on the actual condition of being a citizen. The second half of the chapter discusses the changing conditions for becoming (or not becoming) a citizen, framed by a newly emerging supranational political economy of border control, migration management, and asylum.
Helmut Anheier
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199266722
- eISBN:
- 9780191601941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266727.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Drawing upon a variety of analyses, this chapter constructs a taxonomy of competing approaches to inequality, social cohesion, and citizenship and proceeds to locate the Third Way as a hybrid ...
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Drawing upon a variety of analyses, this chapter constructs a taxonomy of competing approaches to inequality, social cohesion, and citizenship and proceeds to locate the Third Way as a hybrid approach. While the Third Way strongly embraces elements of market liberalism, it also exhibits a mixture of social democratic, communitarian, and moral authoritarian features. The Third Way approach to policies for social inclusion is traced through a discussion of the European Union’s Social Inclusion Strategy, the development of ‘workfare’ type policies, and in the specific context of new labour policies in Britain. The ambiguous consequences of such policies are examined in relation to measures of inequality, poverty, and social exclusion. The chapter concludes that the Third Way maybe more than a pragmatic compromize, but whether it maybe capable of ameliorating the dislocating social effects of a market driven economic agenda remains uncertain.Less
Drawing upon a variety of analyses, this chapter constructs a taxonomy of competing approaches to inequality, social cohesion, and citizenship and proceeds to locate the Third Way as a hybrid approach. While the Third Way strongly embraces elements of market liberalism, it also exhibits a mixture of social democratic, communitarian, and moral authoritarian features. The Third Way approach to policies for social inclusion is traced through a discussion of the European Union’s Social Inclusion Strategy, the development of ‘workfare’ type policies, and in the specific context of new labour policies in Britain. The ambiguous consequences of such policies are examined in relation to measures of inequality, poverty, and social exclusion. The chapter concludes that the Third Way maybe more than a pragmatic compromize, but whether it maybe capable of ameliorating the dislocating social effects of a market driven economic agenda remains uncertain.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Uses historical and contemporary evidence to demonstrate how British government policies toward the unemployed have increasingly come to rest on the notion of duties and obligations arising from a ...
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Uses historical and contemporary evidence to demonstrate how British government policies toward the unemployed have increasingly come to rest on the notion of duties and obligations arising from a commitment to liberal contractualism. King explores 150 years of welfare policy, beginning with the 1834 New Poor Law and ending with modern Labour workfare schemes of the late 1990s. He argues that more contemporary versions of workfare—although sharing affinities with previous programmes—signal a sharp break from the past by establishing conditions and enforcing sanctions on individuals who fail to comply with policy requirements.Less
Uses historical and contemporary evidence to demonstrate how British government policies toward the unemployed have increasingly come to rest on the notion of duties and obligations arising from a commitment to liberal contractualism. King explores 150 years of welfare policy, beginning with the 1834 New Poor Law and ending with modern Labour workfare schemes of the late 1990s. He argues that more contemporary versions of workfare—although sharing affinities with previous programmes—signal a sharp break from the past by establishing conditions and enforcing sanctions on individuals who fail to comply with policy requirements.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
King discusses the history and politics of workfare in the US, the practice of requiring work activity in exchange for welfare benefits. He analyses the late nineteenth‐century Poor Law deterrent ...
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King discusses the history and politics of workfare in the US, the practice of requiring work activity in exchange for welfare benefits. He analyses the late nineteenth‐century Poor Law deterrent traditions as well as the post‐1960s shifts to modern contractualist workfare, which culminated in the 1996 Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Within this discussion, King examines the influence of an English institutional inheritance as well as American cultural attitudes towards welfare as expressed in public opinion surveys strongly marked by racial cleavages and perceptions of dependency. King argues that modern American workfare programmes are not driven solely by pragmatic needs or electoral pressures, but rather by moralistic concerns about failing to work along with the prevailing view that welfare harmfully fosters dependency amongst its recipients.Less
King discusses the history and politics of workfare in the US, the practice of requiring work activity in exchange for welfare benefits. He analyses the late nineteenth‐century Poor Law deterrent traditions as well as the post‐1960s shifts to modern contractualist workfare, which culminated in the 1996 Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Within this discussion, King examines the influence of an English institutional inheritance as well as American cultural attitudes towards welfare as expressed in public opinion surveys strongly marked by racial cleavages and perceptions of dependency. King argues that modern American workfare programmes are not driven solely by pragmatic needs or electoral pressures, but rather by moralistic concerns about failing to work along with the prevailing view that welfare harmfully fosters dependency amongst its recipients.
Duncan Gallie
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199271849
- eISBN:
- 9780191602733
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199271844.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter examines the extent to which social activation policies have incorporated principles of ‘workfare,’ which requires people to work in exchange for social assistance benefits. Welfare ...
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This chapter examines the extent to which social activation policies have incorporated principles of ‘workfare,’ which requires people to work in exchange for social assistance benefits. Welfare programmes in Europe and the United States are compared. Welfare provision in Europe is characterised by a move away from entitlement to conditional aid. Welfare in the US combines an end to entitlement with an emphasis on harassment rather than help.Less
This chapter examines the extent to which social activation policies have incorporated principles of ‘workfare,’ which requires people to work in exchange for social assistance benefits. Welfare programmes in Europe and the United States are compared. Welfare provision in Europe is characterised by a move away from entitlement to conditional aid. Welfare in the US combines an end to entitlement with an emphasis on harassment rather than help.
Ivar Lodemel and Heather Trickey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861341952
- eISBN:
- 9781447301462
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861341952.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
In the last decade, developed welfare states have witnessed a pendulum swing away from unconditional entitlement to social assistance, towards greater emphasis on obligations and conditions tied to ...
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In the last decade, developed welfare states have witnessed a pendulum swing away from unconditional entitlement to social assistance, towards greater emphasis on obligations and conditions tied to the receipt of financial aid. Through administrative reforms, conditions of entitlement have been narrowed. With the introduction of compulsory work for recipients, the contract between the state and uninsured unemployed people is changing. The product of research funded by the European Union, this book compares ‘work-for-welfare’ — or workfare — programmes objectively for the first time. It considers well-publicised schemes from the United States alongside more overlooked examples of workfare programmes from six European countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Britain. It is the first time that details of workfare programmes have been collated in such a format. This book provides an analysis of the ideological debates that surround compulsory work programmes and gives a detailed overview of the programmes implemented in each country, including their political and policy contexts and the forces that have combined to facilitate their implementation. Similarities and differences between programmes are explored. Explanations for differences and lessons for policy makers are discussed.Less
In the last decade, developed welfare states have witnessed a pendulum swing away from unconditional entitlement to social assistance, towards greater emphasis on obligations and conditions tied to the receipt of financial aid. Through administrative reforms, conditions of entitlement have been narrowed. With the introduction of compulsory work for recipients, the contract between the state and uninsured unemployed people is changing. The product of research funded by the European Union, this book compares ‘work-for-welfare’ — or workfare — programmes objectively for the first time. It considers well-publicised schemes from the United States alongside more overlooked examples of workfare programmes from six European countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Britain. It is the first time that details of workfare programmes have been collated in such a format. This book provides an analysis of the ideological debates that surround compulsory work programmes and gives a detailed overview of the programmes implemented in each country, including their political and policy contexts and the forces that have combined to facilitate their implementation. Similarities and differences between programmes are explored. Explanations for differences and lessons for policy makers are discussed.
Mick Carpenter, Belinda Freda, and Stuart Speeden (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348739
- eISBN:
- 9781447301547
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348739.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This book explores equality, discrimination, and human rights in relation to employability and ‘welfare-to-work’ policies. It draws extensively on new research from the SEQUAL Project, undertaken for ...
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This book explores equality, discrimination, and human rights in relation to employability and ‘welfare-to-work’ policies. It draws extensively on new research from the SEQUAL Project, undertaken for the European Social Fund, which investigated seven dimensions of discrimination in a labour market that is theoretically ‘open to all’. The book provides an overall analysis of policy shifts and presents a wide and distinctive range of illustrative studies that give voice to a variety of potentially marginalised groups. Chapters deal with obstacles to labour-market access around each of the following themes: gender and class; disability; race and ethnicity; geographical exclusion; sexual orientation; the problems of old and young people; and refugees. The authors draw attention to localised examples of promising practice, but also connect these to a broader ‘human rights’ agenda, linking them to changing legislative and governance frameworks. The book's scope covers the whole of Great Britain and shows how devolution in Scotland and Wales, and at the regional level in England, is creating new possibilities for mainstreaming good practice in this key area.Less
This book explores equality, discrimination, and human rights in relation to employability and ‘welfare-to-work’ policies. It draws extensively on new research from the SEQUAL Project, undertaken for the European Social Fund, which investigated seven dimensions of discrimination in a labour market that is theoretically ‘open to all’. The book provides an overall analysis of policy shifts and presents a wide and distinctive range of illustrative studies that give voice to a variety of potentially marginalised groups. Chapters deal with obstacles to labour-market access around each of the following themes: gender and class; disability; race and ethnicity; geographical exclusion; sexual orientation; the problems of old and young people; and refugees. The authors draw attention to localised examples of promising practice, but also connect these to a broader ‘human rights’ agenda, linking them to changing legislative and governance frameworks. The book's scope covers the whole of Great Britain and shows how devolution in Scotland and Wales, and at the regional level in England, is creating new possibilities for mainstreaming good practice in this key area.
Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky, Irving Piliavin, and Steven McMurtry
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195304961
- eISBN:
- 9780199863648
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304961.003.0017
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families, Research and Evaluation
This chapter uses data from two ongoing studies in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, to provide empirical evidence supporting the claim that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar ...
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This chapter uses data from two ongoing studies in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, to provide empirical evidence supporting the claim that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. It begins with a history of the separation of income maintenance from social services, then briefly describes the current situation. It is shown that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. However, despite the similar needs of these populations, indeed, even a large overlap between the populations, these two systems continue to operate largely independently, if not at cross-purposes. These findings call into question both the structure of service systems in jurisdictions like Milwaukee and the federal welfare and child welfare policies that lead state and local policy makers to create such misaligned systems.Less
This chapter uses data from two ongoing studies in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, to provide empirical evidence supporting the claim that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. It begins with a history of the separation of income maintenance from social services, then briefly describes the current situation. It is shown that workfare and child welfare programs serve increasingly similar populations with similar needs. However, despite the similar needs of these populations, indeed, even a large overlap between the populations, these two systems continue to operate largely independently, if not at cross-purposes. These findings call into question both the structure of service systems in jurisdictions like Milwaukee and the federal welfare and child welfare policies that lead state and local policy makers to create such misaligned systems.
Chak Kwan Chan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861344311
- eISBN:
- 9781447302551
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861344311.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
Pro-‘workfare’ governments justify their policies by claiming ‘workfare’ helps enhance self-esteem and promote the dignity of unemployed recipients. On the other hand, welfare activists argue that ...
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Pro-‘workfare’ governments justify their policies by claiming ‘workfare’ helps enhance self-esteem and promote the dignity of unemployed recipients. On the other hand, welfare activists argue that ‘workfare’ suppresses the dignity of unemployed persons. This book examines the concept of human dignity in this context and attempts to clarify its meaning. It formulates a framework for evaluating the dignity of welfare recipients; uses this framework to explore the dignity of unemployed persons in four different welfare systems: UK, Sweden, China and Hong Kong; compares the conditions of human dignity in each case; and identifies factors which enhance or suppress it.Less
Pro-‘workfare’ governments justify their policies by claiming ‘workfare’ helps enhance self-esteem and promote the dignity of unemployed recipients. On the other hand, welfare activists argue that ‘workfare’ suppresses the dignity of unemployed persons. This book examines the concept of human dignity in this context and attempts to clarify its meaning. It formulates a framework for evaluating the dignity of welfare recipients; uses this framework to explore the dignity of unemployed persons in four different welfare systems: UK, Sweden, China and Hong Kong; compares the conditions of human dignity in each case; and identifies factors which enhance or suppress it.
John Krinsky and Maud Simonet
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226435442
- eISBN:
- 9780226435619
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226435619.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
For New Yorkers, the answer to the question “Who cleans your park?” is complex: Welfare-to-work trainees, volunteers, unionized city workers (working within or outside their official job ...
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For New Yorkers, the answer to the question “Who cleans your park?” is complex: Welfare-to-work trainees, volunteers, unionized city workers (working within or outside their official job descriptions), summer youth workers, workers for private, nonprofit parks “conservancies,” staff of companies working under contract, and people sentenced to community service all perform routine maintenance in parks. With public services no longer being provided primarily by public workers, the state and the nature of public work have to be reevaluated. Based on four years of fieldwork in New York City parks and on nearly 140 interviews with workers inside and outside the Parks Department, and with others involved in the parks maintenance system, this book is an investigation of the conditions under which New York City’s parks are maintained, of changing labor relations and contracts of the parks’ cleaners, and of their relations at the workplace with each other. It argues that we cannot understand these unless we also try to understand the ways in which the city’s institutions have changed—with the Parks Department sometimes at the avant-garde. We must also, in turn, comprehend how and why even more encompassing changes in urban political economy shape these institutional changes. In taking this view of parks maintenance work, the book moves stepwise up levels of analysis, from an analysis of labor contracts and workplaces through organizations and their legitimation strategies, and up to larger public policies and to an understanding of the State that, in its diverse composition, produces them.Less
For New Yorkers, the answer to the question “Who cleans your park?” is complex: Welfare-to-work trainees, volunteers, unionized city workers (working within or outside their official job descriptions), summer youth workers, workers for private, nonprofit parks “conservancies,” staff of companies working under contract, and people sentenced to community service all perform routine maintenance in parks. With public services no longer being provided primarily by public workers, the state and the nature of public work have to be reevaluated. Based on four years of fieldwork in New York City parks and on nearly 140 interviews with workers inside and outside the Parks Department, and with others involved in the parks maintenance system, this book is an investigation of the conditions under which New York City’s parks are maintained, of changing labor relations and contracts of the parks’ cleaners, and of their relations at the workplace with each other. It argues that we cannot understand these unless we also try to understand the ways in which the city’s institutions have changed—with the Parks Department sometimes at the avant-garde. We must also, in turn, comprehend how and why even more encompassing changes in urban political economy shape these institutional changes. In taking this view of parks maintenance work, the book moves stepwise up levels of analysis, from an analysis of labor contracts and workplaces through organizations and their legitimation strategies, and up to larger public policies and to an understanding of the State that, in its diverse composition, produces them.
Clare Bambra
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588299
- eISBN:
- 9780191731372
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588299.003.0002
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter examines the development of the welfare state from a political economy perspective. Initially, the emergence of post-war welfare state capitalism is examined, and subsequently ...
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This chapter examines the development of the welfare state from a political economy perspective. Initially, the emergence of post-war welfare state capitalism is examined, and subsequently international variations — Fordist welfare state regimes — are outlined and compared. The crisis and reform of developed welfare states as forms of labour market regulation and capital accumulation are then examined and contextualized within the wider economic and political structural shifts from Fordism to post-Fordism. The emergence of new forms of welfare — post-Fordist workfare state regimes — is also described. In the final section, the role of the welfare state as mediator in the social determinants of health is outlined and differences in population health and health inequalities by welfare state regime are examined.Less
This chapter examines the development of the welfare state from a political economy perspective. Initially, the emergence of post-war welfare state capitalism is examined, and subsequently international variations — Fordist welfare state regimes — are outlined and compared. The crisis and reform of developed welfare states as forms of labour market regulation and capital accumulation are then examined and contextualized within the wider economic and political structural shifts from Fordism to post-Fordism. The emergence of new forms of welfare — post-Fordist workfare state regimes — is also described. In the final section, the role of the welfare state as mediator in the social determinants of health is outlined and differences in population health and health inequalities by welfare state regime are examined.
Ivar Lødemel and Heather Trickey
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861341952
- eISBN:
- 9781447301462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861341952.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter provides a working definition of workfare, which is used in this book. The discussion identifies key elements of workfare programmes, and outlines the policy context for workfare ...
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This chapter provides a working definition of workfare, which is used in this book. The discussion identifies key elements of workfare programmes, and outlines the policy context for workfare policies in a discussion of a move from ‘passive’ to ‘active’ labour market policies. An ideological context is presented in the discussion of two competing concepts — ‘dependency’ and ‘social exclusion’ — in relation to worklessness. The chapter then presents the structural context for workfare, as well as giving a presentation of key economic indicators in the seven countries and a description of differences in welfare state and social assistance regimes.Less
This chapter provides a working definition of workfare, which is used in this book. The discussion identifies key elements of workfare programmes, and outlines the policy context for workfare policies in a discussion of a move from ‘passive’ to ‘active’ labour market policies. An ideological context is presented in the discussion of two competing concepts — ‘dependency’ and ‘social exclusion’ — in relation to worklessness. The chapter then presents the structural context for workfare, as well as giving a presentation of key economic indicators in the seven countries and a description of differences in welfare state and social assistance regimes.
Heather Trickey
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861341952
- eISBN:
- 9781447301462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861341952.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter provides a systematic overview of the most ‘workfarelike’ workfare policies in each of the countries that previous chapters have discussed. A comparison of the programmes in terms of ...
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This chapter provides a systematic overview of the most ‘workfarelike’ workfare policies in each of the countries that previous chapters have discussed. A comparison of the programmes in terms of their aims and ideological underpinnings, their target groups, their administrative framework, and the extent to which they diverge from an ‘ideal-type’ workfare model is included. It discusses the patterns of variation, and ends with a section of the implications for the future of workfare. It concludes that workfare programmes are faced with a common set of problems that come directly from the fact that they are compulsory, work-based and targeted at a population facing formidable barriers to work.Less
This chapter provides a systematic overview of the most ‘workfarelike’ workfare policies in each of the countries that previous chapters have discussed. A comparison of the programmes in terms of their aims and ideological underpinnings, their target groups, their administrative framework, and the extent to which they diverge from an ‘ideal-type’ workfare model is included. It discusses the patterns of variation, and ends with a section of the implications for the future of workfare. It concludes that workfare programmes are faced with a common set of problems that come directly from the fact that they are compulsory, work-based and targeted at a population facing formidable barriers to work.
Stuart Lowe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847422736
- eISBN:
- 9781447305514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847422736.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
Globalisation compelled the UK economy into a phase of rapid restructuring, turning away from the old industries in manufacturing and mining and towards a knowledge economy based around services. ...
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Globalisation compelled the UK economy into a phase of rapid restructuring, turning away from the old industries in manufacturing and mining and towards a knowledge economy based around services. This new work replaced mainly male full-time jobs with part-time female work. This reconfiguration brought with it a new welfare state paradigm that began to replace the Beveridge model with a ‘competition state’, a workfare system geared towards supporting directly efficient economic performance. A new social geography emerged with the services economy, which was located in suburbs and small towns, leaving behind declining inner cities in the heartlands of the ‘old’ economy. Two-earner households underpinned a new wave of suburban home ownership. There were thus significant complementarities between economic restructuring, welfare state reconfiguration and the further embedding of the home-owning society. Meanwhile, council housing began a rapid descent as manufacturing industries closed down. Home ownership began to play a prominent part in shaping people's welfare choices, especially after the mortgage market was reinvented, providing access to housing equity on a massive scale.Less
Globalisation compelled the UK economy into a phase of rapid restructuring, turning away from the old industries in manufacturing and mining and towards a knowledge economy based around services. This new work replaced mainly male full-time jobs with part-time female work. This reconfiguration brought with it a new welfare state paradigm that began to replace the Beveridge model with a ‘competition state’, a workfare system geared towards supporting directly efficient economic performance. A new social geography emerged with the services economy, which was located in suburbs and small towns, leaving behind declining inner cities in the heartlands of the ‘old’ economy. Two-earner households underpinned a new wave of suburban home ownership. There were thus significant complementarities between economic restructuring, welfare state reconfiguration and the further embedding of the home-owning society. Meanwhile, council housing began a rapid descent as manufacturing industries closed down. Home ownership began to play a prominent part in shaping people's welfare choices, especially after the mortgage market was reinvented, providing access to housing equity on a massive scale.
Jean-Claude Barbier
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199754045
- eISBN:
- 9780199979455
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754045.003.0032
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
One of the main reforms of “social citizenship” in the past 20 years has certainly been the gradual introduction of “activation” strategies across an increasing number of policy fields. Firstly, the ...
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One of the main reforms of “social citizenship” in the past 20 years has certainly been the gradual introduction of “activation” strategies across an increasing number of policy fields. Firstly, the normative discourses that justify social policy, and benefit distribution in particular, have changed in tone: an ideological shift has been documented, incorporating a rhetoric concerning “duties” and “rights.” It is not only the levels of benefits available that have changed, but much broader “benefits” are involved, which individuals gain from participating in society, including for instance the right to share the advantages of full employment with others, and they also benefit from the “right” not to be put in a stigmatized category and the right to have their autonomy as an individual respected. Considerable national variation has persisted in this respect. In Scandinavian countries, the strategy for activating social protection has been accompanied by a broad and open public debate. The situation has been very different when activation reforms were introduced in other countries, such as Germany, France, or the United Kingdom.Less
One of the main reforms of “social citizenship” in the past 20 years has certainly been the gradual introduction of “activation” strategies across an increasing number of policy fields. Firstly, the normative discourses that justify social policy, and benefit distribution in particular, have changed in tone: an ideological shift has been documented, incorporating a rhetoric concerning “duties” and “rights.” It is not only the levels of benefits available that have changed, but much broader “benefits” are involved, which individuals gain from participating in society, including for instance the right to share the advantages of full employment with others, and they also benefit from the “right” not to be put in a stigmatized category and the right to have their autonomy as an individual respected. Considerable national variation has persisted in this respect. In Scandinavian countries, the strategy for activating social protection has been accompanied by a broad and open public debate. The situation has been very different when activation reforms were introduced in other countries, such as Germany, France, or the United Kingdom.
Hartley Dean
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861345622
- eISBN:
- 9781447303763
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861345622.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
Human rights are an ideological fiction. This is not to diminish the concept; rather it is to acknowledge that the notion of a universally definable set of rights that are inherent to human beings by ...
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Human rights are an ideological fiction. This is not to diminish the concept; rather it is to acknowledge that the notion of a universally definable set of rights that are inherent to human beings by virtue of their humanity is a socially constructed ideal. Human rights are an expression neither of eternal verities nor mere moral norms, but of systematically derived principles or social values. This chapter examines the broader issues that flow from the distinctively liberal-individualist conception of human rights that is associated with globalisation. It provides an overview of the historical and conceptual background to human rights and human welfare before discussing the ways in which human rights discourse is entering current debates on global social development and European social protection. The chapter also provides alternative interpretations of human rights and uses the example of current ‘workfare’ policies in Europe to demonstrate the ways in which social rights are compromised because it is an interpretation of human rights that is ascendant.Less
Human rights are an ideological fiction. This is not to diminish the concept; rather it is to acknowledge that the notion of a universally definable set of rights that are inherent to human beings by virtue of their humanity is a socially constructed ideal. Human rights are an expression neither of eternal verities nor mere moral norms, but of systematically derived principles or social values. This chapter examines the broader issues that flow from the distinctively liberal-individualist conception of human rights that is associated with globalisation. It provides an overview of the historical and conceptual background to human rights and human welfare before discussing the ways in which human rights discourse is entering current debates on global social development and European social protection. The chapter also provides alternative interpretations of human rights and uses the example of current ‘workfare’ policies in Europe to demonstrate the ways in which social rights are compromised because it is an interpretation of human rights that is ascendant.
Mick Carpenter, Stuart Speeden, and Belinda Freda
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348739
- eISBN:
- 9781447301547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348739.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This introductory chapter discusses the possibility of a shifting from the current trend in the United Kingdom to a more disciplinary ‘workfare state’. The first section is on the development of a ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the possibility of a shifting from the current trend in the United Kingdom to a more disciplinary ‘workfare state’. The first section is on the development of a bottom-up approach to evidence-based policy making, followed by a discussion on the background of the research and critique of main employability-based approaches. The SEQUAL research, which was funded by the European Union EQUAL Programme, is introduced. The chapter also includes a brief discussion of the basic structure of the book.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the possibility of a shifting from the current trend in the United Kingdom to a more disciplinary ‘workfare state’. The first section is on the development of a bottom-up approach to evidence-based policy making, followed by a discussion on the background of the research and critique of main employability-based approaches. The SEQUAL research, which was funded by the European Union EQUAL Programme, is introduced. The chapter also includes a brief discussion of the basic structure of the book.
Mick Carpenter and Stuart Speeden
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348739
- eISBN:
- 9781447301547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348739.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This chapter examines the origins and impact of New Labour's welfare-to-work policies. It presents a review and critical assessment of the economic and social policies in the workfare state up to and ...
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This chapter examines the origins and impact of New Labour's welfare-to-work policies. It presents a review and critical assessment of the economic and social policies in the workfare state up to and since 1997, under New Labour. The chapter also aims to locate recent reforms within an enduring British liberal tradition of economic and social policy.Less
This chapter examines the origins and impact of New Labour's welfare-to-work policies. It presents a review and critical assessment of the economic and social policies in the workfare state up to and since 1997, under New Labour. The chapter also aims to locate recent reforms within an enduring British liberal tradition of economic and social policy.
Chak Kwan and Graham Bowpitt
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861344311
- eISBN:
- 9781447302551
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861344311.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This chapter looks at the first case study on human dignity, which is set in Hong Kong. It reveals that Hong Kong can be considered as a good case study of a capitalist welfare system's attitudes ...
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This chapter looks at the first case study on human dignity, which is set in Hong Kong. It reveals that Hong Kong can be considered as a good case study of a capitalist welfare system's attitudes towards the dignity of economically weak citizens. The discussion is able to determine that human dignity in Hong Kong appears to be narrowly defined as a ‘contribution to society’ and ‘labour market participation’. The chapter also shows that workfare practices in Hong Kong have forced a large number of poor citizens out of the public welfare system, without providing them with enough financial support.Less
This chapter looks at the first case study on human dignity, which is set in Hong Kong. It reveals that Hong Kong can be considered as a good case study of a capitalist welfare system's attitudes towards the dignity of economically weak citizens. The discussion is able to determine that human dignity in Hong Kong appears to be narrowly defined as a ‘contribution to society’ and ‘labour market participation’. The chapter also shows that workfare practices in Hong Kong have forced a large number of poor citizens out of the public welfare system, without providing them with enough financial support.
Ivar Lødemel
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861341952
- eISBN:
- 9781447301462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861341952.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
This chapter takes a look at an example of a localised form of Norwegian workfare. This is applied selectively to a highly residualised social assistance population within an economic setting that ...
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This chapter takes a look at an example of a localised form of Norwegian workfare. This is applied selectively to a highly residualised social assistance population within an economic setting that has been relatively unaffected by a rise in the unemployment rate. This chapter is focused on the first years of the new conditionality, and begins with a description of how political and ideological factors have joined to support the introduction of workfare as a condition of social assistance. The chapter then describes how structural and political conditions have resulted in a distortion of poorly specified national objectives, followed by a discussion of the recent developments that help suggest that the Norwegian workforce is moving in a similar direction to policies in other European countries.Less
This chapter takes a look at an example of a localised form of Norwegian workfare. This is applied selectively to a highly residualised social assistance population within an economic setting that has been relatively unaffected by a rise in the unemployment rate. This chapter is focused on the first years of the new conditionality, and begins with a description of how political and ideological factors have joined to support the introduction of workfare as a condition of social assistance. The chapter then describes how structural and political conditions have resulted in a distortion of poorly specified national objectives, followed by a discussion of the recent developments that help suggest that the Norwegian workforce is moving in a similar direction to policies in other European countries.
