Do Finnish young people support the Nordic welfare state?

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teemu Rantanen ◽  
Thomas Chalmers McLaughlin ◽  
Timo Toikko
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Government Responsibility ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Welfare Attitudes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine young people’s attitudes toward social welfare and their perceptions of who is responsible for providing social welfare benefits. Design/methodology/approach – Social welfare attitudes were examined related to three themes: government responsibility, trust in society, and individual responsibility. A sample of 725 students from 12 high and vocational schools in south Finland was used for analysis. Findings – The data suggest that young people have a high regard for the importance of the government’s role as a social support and a mechanism of social welfare for all citizens. In addition, the results show that women highlight government responsibility more than men, and that men highlight the individual’s own responsibility for social issues. According to the results, there is a weak relationship between cultural values and social welfare attitudes. Collective values relate positively to an emphasis on trust in government and government responsibility for social problems, and relate negatively to an emphasis on individuals’ personal responsibility. Originality/value – The study shows that the main principles of the welfare state are still accepted by the Finnish youth, although recent speculations about the future of welfare states.

scholarly journals Does the immigration issue divide the left’s attitudes towards social welfare? A study on public support of social benefits and services in the Nordic countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (13/14) ◽  
pp. 51-66
Author(s):  
Laura Häkkilä ◽  
Timo Toikko
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Left ◽  
Immigration Attitudes ◽  
Welfare Attitudes ◽  
Immigration Issue ◽  
The Welfare State

PurposeThe paper presents a study on whether citizens’ immigration attitudes shape their attitudes towards social welfare in three Nordic countries.Design/methodology/approachThe main analysis was performed using linear regression analysis. Data were retrieved from the eighth round of the European Social Survey (2016). The data cover the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish respondents (N = 5,021).FindingsThe analyses indicate that citizens’ immigration attitudes are associated with their social welfare attitudes. The more positive the attitudes towards immigration are, the more positive the attitudes toward social welfare will be. Further, people in the political Left have more positive attitudes towards social welfare compared to those in the political Right; but, the immigration issue is more divisive of the political Left’s opinion than that of the Right.Research limitations/implicationsPublic opinion research has its limitations because behind an individual’s opinion there are many hidden factors. An individual may also have different opinions depending on the dimensions of the welfare state.Social implicationsIf the immigration issue reduces the support for social welfare among the political Left, it may reduce the legitimacy of the Nordic social policy because the support of the political Left has traditionally been in favour of the universal principles of the welfare state.Originality/valueThe association of the immigration issue and social welfare attitudes has been broadly studied; but, the interaction of the immigration issue and political opinion on social welfare attitudes is less studied.

Social Welfare in India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shrivridhi Shukla ◽  
Arpita Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Insurance Fund ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
The Government ◽  
Private Corporations

India’s rapid economic growth is accompanied by economic inequality, poverty, and a range of social issues, thus, raising important questions concerning the breadth and depth of social protection and promotion policies prevalent in the country. The social welfare system in India is different for the formal and informal sectors of the economy. It consists of two largely parallel systems. With respect to the formal economy or the organized sector, it operates directly through the government, state-owned enterprises, and/ or private corporations that provide reasonably strong social protection to their employees through mandatory legislations spanning aspects such as payment of gratuity, employees’ provident fund, and the employees’ state insurance fund. In contrast, the informal or the unorganized sector is covered through a fragmented system of welfare schemes and benefits provided by the central government and the respective state governments. Along with tracing the historical evolution of India’s welfare system, this article outlines the constitutional place of welfare in the country. With respect to the informal sector of the economy, it provides an overview of some of the key promotion and protection-orientated welfare policies and schemes, including those that address poverty, unemployment, education, health and food insecurity. Further, it discusses the barriers experienced by people in accessing welfare benefits, such as corruption and bureaucratic hurdles, and challenges faced by the government in welfare provision, such as scale of operation and identification of the target population groups. Finally, it assesses the country’s welfare system in light of the Global Social Protection Floor Initiative of the ILO-UN.

scholarly journals Attitudes of Turkish and Moroccan Belgians toward Redistribution and Government Responsibility: The Role of Perceived Discrimination, Generation, and Religious Involvement

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-446
Author(s):  
Jolien Galle ◽  
Koen Abts ◽  
Marc Swyngedouw ◽  
Bart Meuleman
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Religious Involvement ◽  
Government Responsibility ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Welfare Attitudes

This article contributes to the debate about migration’s impact on welfare state support by investigating the welfare opinions of migrants and their descendants. It examines whether experiences of group and individual discrimination explain the welfare attitudes of this group over and beyond classical predictors of self-interest and political ideology. Using survey data from Belgian citizens of Turkish and Moroccan descent, we show that stronger support for redistribution is associated with higher levels of perceived group discrimination, religious involvement, and belonging to the second generation. Preferences of government responsibility, however, are strongly determined by labor market position and left-right ideology.

scholarly journals Contesting the austerity and “welfare reform” narrative of the UK Government

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 639-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Wiggan
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The “welfare reform” narrative of successive Conservative-led UK Government emphasises public spending reductions, individual responsibility and strengthening of benefit conditionality. The purpose of this paper is to cast light on how this narrative is challenged and disrupted by the Scottish Government through their articulation of a social democratic welfare state imaginary. Design/methodology/approach The study draws together a decentred governance perspective that emphasises ideational tradition for understanding (re)construction of governance (Bevir, 2013, p. 27) with critical discourse analysis to examine how welfare interpretations/representations are carried into the policy and public arena. The Scottish Government documents are deconstructed to interrogate the ideas and form of their emergent discourse and its relation to the independence referendum and welfare governance reform. Findings Responding to changing socio-economic contexts and welfare governance, the Scottish Government has developed a discourse of modernisation rooted in British and Scandinavian social democratic traditions. Fusing (civic) nationalism with social wage and social investment concepts, they conjure up imaginaries of a prosperous, solidaristic, egalitarian welfare state as a feasible future reality, recuperating “welfare” as a collective endeavour and positioning a maldistribution of power/resources between groups and constituent countries of the UK as the “problem”. Originality/value The paper is of value to those interested in how changes to centralised-hierarchical welfare governance can open new spaces for actors at different levels of government to articulate counter-hegemonic discourses and practices. Its originality lies in the analysis of how the Scottish Government has reworked social democratic traditions to weave together a welfare imaginary that directly contests the problem-solution narrative of successive Conservative-led UK Governments.

Sustainable developments and corporate social responsibility in Vietnamese fashion enterprises

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajkishore Nayak ◽  
Long Nguyen Van Thang ◽  
Tu Nguyen ◽  
Julia Gaimster ◽  
Rebecca Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the status of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in fashion enterprises in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is qualitative in nature and utilized a multiple case study approach (questionnaires and face-to-face interviews) to achieve the objectives of the research. NVivo was used to analyze the data.FindingsFindings showed that by collaborating with the local artisans to create the unique clothing lines, the fashion brands try to blend and upscale the traditional indigenous clothing styles with modern design concepts to promote the diversity of Vietnamese ethnic culture. The findings also suggest that both the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises (LEs) should maintain their corporate social responsibility (CSR) concepts to comply with the legal obligations such as salary and welfare benefits for employees, work safety, gender equality and promotions. Further, the CSR activities should address the social issues with their target stakeholders, particularly with the local communities.Originality/valueThis study sought to provide a snapshot on the current sustainable practices followed in Vietnamese fashion enterprises.

Why do you drink? A means-end approach to the motivations of young alcohol consumers

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (8) ◽  
pp. 1854-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Fabbrizzi ◽  
Nicola Marinelli ◽  
Silvio Menghini ◽  
Leonardo Casini
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Young Consumers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the motivations of young consumers of alcoholic beverages in order to supply information for the definition of corporate and social marketing strategies. The target of young consumers was chosen because of its association with the choice of consumption behaviours often resulting in health and social issues related to alcohol. The focus on motivations, on the other hand, is justified by the need to assess the contents of appropriate and efficient communication campaigns for both producers and public institutions. Design/methodology/approach A means-end approach was used on a sample of young consumers from Tuscany via face-to-face interviews. The interviews were carried out with students who were completing their last year of high school. The results were processed using an MEC analyst software for the construction of the hierarchical value maps and cognitive maps showing the links between products and consumers. Findings The results highlighted the perception of a “socialisation” attribute that is stronger when linked to the consumption of beer and spirits; however, wine is still perceived as a non-friendly beverage. The aspect of socialisation underlines both the pleasure of sharing consumption experiences and the dangerous binge drinking behaviour. Thanks to this approach, the study identifies the main elements in the cognitive structure that, if used to define a communication strategy, may guarantee a high degree of efficacy. Originality/value The findings of the study constitute valuable information that can be used to prepare stages of communication plans within larger corporate and social marketing strategies. The wine sector can benefit from understanding the motivations that prevent young people from drinking wine and can attempt to fill the psychological and cognitive gap between young consumers and the product. Public institutions, on the other hand, may benefit from understanding the motivations that lead young people towards dangerous drinking behaviours. In turn, the institutions may be able to send appropriate messages within their communication activities aimed at containing such behaviours.

THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE LESOTHO GOVERNMENT’S SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMMES ARE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF RURAL RECIPIENTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-364
Author(s):  
Pius T. Tanga ◽  
Tsĕpang Manyeli
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Financial Economic ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the extent to which government social welfare programmes meet the needs of individuals in the rural areas in Lesotho. Data were collected from 100 social welfare recipients through a semi-structured questionnaire. The study was guided by four hypotheses using chi-square as a test of significance. The major results show that the government was providing a number of social welfare programmes that had a significant impact on lives. These notwithstanding, the insufficient transfers are discussed in the light of the African cultural values of sharing and reciprocity. The impact of the financial/economic crisis on recipients and the government in the area of social welfare is discussed. It is concluded that the government has not been able to provide sufficient social welfare benefits to its citizens. The weaknesses of the Department of Social Welfare and the unregulated nature of social work practice are highlighted and recommendations are suggested.

scholarly journals THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL WELFARE: TOWARDS AN EMERGING WELFARE SOCIOLOGY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIUSZ BARANOWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Welfare Attitudes ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Welfare State Regimes ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The main aim of the article is to outline welfare sociology as a potential sub-discipline of sociology and to discuss the issues of broadly defined social welfare. While in contemporary social sciences the literature concerning welfare often focuses on themes such as happiness (psychology), prosperity (economics), or quality of life (sociology), these themes may be considered too narrow and do not reflect the complexity of the issue. However, if one considers the definition of social welfare through the prism of material and non-material needs, as well as the needs expressed individually and collectively, it is possible to attempt a comprehensive study of this phenomenon. The author uses the definition of social welfare to look at research on (a) welfare state regimes, (b) welfare attitudes and (c) issues of work in contemporary capitalism, all to enable the application of research results within the analysis of the title concept.

Generous to all or ‘insiders only’? The relationship between welfare state generosity and immigrant welfare rights

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Römer
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Welfare Generosity ◽  
Welfare Expenditures ◽  
Generous Welfare

Two sharply contrasting accounts exist for the relationships between welfare generosity and immigrant social rights. The dualization hypothesis argues that due to fiscal pressures and welfare chauvinism, generous welfare states are more likely to exclude immigrants from access to welfare benefits. The generosity hypothesis argues that on the contrary, in generous welfare states, an immigrant will be granted greater access to benefits for material, institutional and cultural reasons. Using newly collected data from the Immigration Policies in Comparison (IMPIC) project that covers 18 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states over 30 years (1980–2010) the two hypotheses are tested using pooled time series analyses. Both a composite index of welfare generosity and social welfare expenditures are used as explanatory variables. Furthermore, the analyses include a number of controls from the welfare state literature, as well as a measure for overall immigration policy restrictiveness. The results broadly support the generosity hypothesis. By contrast, the analyses yield no support for the dualization hypothesis. The index of welfare generosity is positively and significantly associated with immigrant access to benefits, while social welfare expenditures are positively signed but not significant. A number of sensitivity analyses confirm the robustness of the results. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that generous welfare states are more likely to grant immigrants access to welfare benefits, and less generous welfare states are more likely to exclude immigrants from access.

scholarly journals The governance of vulnerability: regulation, support and social divisions in action

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 667-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Brown
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Young People ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Divisions

Purpose Diverse narratives and practices concerned with “vulnerability” increasingly inform how a range of social issues are understood and addressed, yet the subtle creep of the notion into various governance arenas has tended to slip by unnoticed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of vulnerability in responding to longstanding and on-going dilemmas about social precariousness and harm. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on in-depth qualitative research into how vulnerability was operationalised in services for “vulnerable” young people in an English city, prominent narratives of vulnerability are traced, which operate in relation to a variety of often-dissonant service user responses. Findings The paper shows the governance of vulnerability as a dynamic process, informed by policy developments and wider beliefs about the behaviours of “problem” populations, interpreted and modified by interactions between practitioners and young people, and in turn shaping lived experiences of vulnerability. Patterns in this process illuminate how vulnerability narratives re-shape long-running tensions at the heart of social welfare interventions between a drive to provide services that might mitigate social precariousness and an impetus towards regulating behaviour. Originality/value The paper argues that although gesturing to inclusivity, the governance of vulnerability elaborates power dynamics and social divisions in new ways. Resulting outcomes are evidently varied and fluid, holding the promise of further social change.

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