Social Capital and Health Inequality in the Social-Democratic Swedish Welfare State

2013 ◽  
pp. 133-160
Author(s):  
Mikael Rostila
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Health Inequality ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals THE EUROPEAN WELFARE STATE REGIMES: QUESTIONING THE TYPOLOGY DURING THE CRISIS

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosta JOSIFIDIS ◽  
John B. HALL ◽  
Novica SUPIC ◽  
Emilija BEKER PUCAR
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
European Welfare State ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Welfare State Regimes ◽  
The Eu

This paper examines the nature of changes within the EU–15 welfare states affected by the 2008 crisis. We try to answer the question of whether the differences that exist among different welfare state regimes, according to prevailing welfare state typologies, lead to different responses to the consequences of the crisis. Welfare state regimes are the result of different institutional perceptions of social risks hence it is realistic to expect specific responses to the effects of crisis among different welfare state regimes, and similar responses among the countries that belong to the same welfare state regimes. In order to recognize convergent vs. divergent processes, we perform a comparative analysis of the dynamics of the key welfare state determinants of the EU–15 countries, grouping according to welfare state regimes, in the pre-crisis and crisis periods. The results indicate that institutional rigidity and inherent inertia has remained a key factor of convergent welfare state processes in countries that belong to the Social Democratic and Corporatist welfare state regimes. Deviations from such a course are the most evident in the Mediterranean welfare state regimes, especially in Greece and Portugal where austerity measures have been formulated under the strong influence of the Troika.

Fiscal Squeeze in Germany:

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lodge ◽  
Kai Wegrich
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Financial Arrangements ◽  
Government Level

Decisive fiscal squeeze might surprise observers of the German political system, insofar as party political dynamics, welfare state complexity, and intergovernmental financial arrangements are commonly said to inhibit decisive reforms. This chapter traces the fiscal squeeze carried out in post-unification Germany in the 1990s and 2000s and highlights how the politics of fiscal squeeze had damaging political consequences for the Social Democratic Party. Squeeze at the federal government level was largely about ‘natural wastage’ in staff numbers and targeted cutbacks. The welfare state witnessed considerable reform as a result of cumulating pressures resulting from unification, triggering significant political consequences. Finally, squeezing at the level of the intergovernmental fiscal transfers reflected attempts to contain fiscal pressures on local governments, and wider pressures within the system of German federalism, leading to the creation of a constitutional ‘debt brake’ on public budgets.

Denmark: The Rise of Fascism and the Decline of the Nordic Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasna Balorda
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Agendas ◽  
The Welfare State

Contrary to its conventional image as a social-democratic paragon, the Danish welfare state has, in recent decades, been undergoing significant changes as a response to the intrusion into the social sphere by self-regulating markets and a final departure from Keynesian politics of universalism and solidarity. This article examines the evident decline of the Nordic model as a result of neoliberal globalisation and establishes an association between the erosion of the welfare state and the emergence of fascist political sentiment in Denmark. An analysis of the Danish People's party and its growing public support among the disenfranchised working class communities in Denmark demonstrates how those overlooked by the free market and unrepresented by the liberal left become increasingly more receptive to the proposed social agendas of the far right campaigns.

The Crisis of the Welfare State and the Politics of the Past in Black Metal and Folk Metal Subcultures

Young ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Aila Mustamo
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Black Metal ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Common Enemy ◽  
Critical Discourses ◽  
The Welfare State

Anti-modernism has always been a part of the ideology of black metal and folk metal subcultures. In addition to Christianity, a common enemy in the field of modernity is the ‘social democratic’ welfare state. Although at least black metal can be considered as a counterculture, both black metal and folk metal subgenres reflect widely shared ideas from the mainstream. Based on interview material, this article examines how members of black metal and folk metal subcultures participate in the discussion about the welfare state. It gives voice to individuals rarely heard in music media or in the gatherings of the black metal and folk metal scenes. This article brings forward critical discourses about the apolitical tradition of heavy metal subcultures. It discusses ideologies and representations, and reception of ideas shared in metal communities.

Norwegian Public Health Policy: Revitalization of the Social Democratic Welfare State?

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Fosse
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
State Model ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Structural Measures

Norway is part of the so-called social democratic welfare state model, which is characterized by its emphasis on solidarity and redistribution among social groups. The concepts of upstream and downstream policy measures may be useful to characterize different approaches to public health policies: upstream measures would be structural measures, in line with the social democratic welfare state model, while downstream measures would be more targeted at individuals or groups at some sort of risk. The aim of this article is to analyze national policies in Norway and how these may be characterized in terms of upstream and downstream factors. Health promotion and public health policies have been high on the Norwegian political agenda for two decades. However, the national policy emphasis has shifted between strategies aimed at individuals and structural strategies—that is, between downstream and upstream measures. Until 2003, policies included mainly downstream measures, but since then a policy shift has taken place and current policy includes an emphasis on upstream measures. This policy was strengthened after a left-wing coalition came into government in 2005. It may be argued that the present policy represents a revitalization of universal and structural measures, in line with the social democratic welfare state model.

The Real Crisis: Not Work Incentives but Runaway Credit

2019 ◽  
pp. 220-229
Author(s):  
Avner Offer ◽  
Gabriel Söderberg
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Financial Liberalization ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Work Incentives ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Real Action

This chapter shows that, while economists were fretting over incentives, the real action was taking place unremarked under their noses. When the major crash that Lindbeck predicted finally occurred, it had nothing to do with work incentives or the welfare state. Like the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, of which it might be considered a precursor, the Swedish (and indeed, the wider Nordic) crash originated in finance. Sweden (with the rest of Scandinavia) resisted the lure of financial liberalization until the mid-1980s, and when it succumbed, punishment came quickly. A severe financial crisis in the early 1990s was almost entirely the result of this liberalization, which also became the opportunity for a modest application of the ‘incentives’ agenda, leaving, however, much of the Social Democratic welfare state intact.

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