scholarly journals Administering the Union citizen in need: Between welfare state bureaucracy and migration control

2021 ◽  
pp. 095892872199961
Author(s):  
Dion Kramer ◽  
Anita Heindlmaier
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Member States ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Comparative Case Studies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Union Citizen ◽  
The Right

How to determine whether mobile Union citizens have a right to social assistance? Research has shown how Western European Member States have made efforts to restrict Union citizens’ access to their welfare systems over the past decade, whereby lawful residence has increasingly become the linchpin for entitlement. Member States have responded strikingly differently, however, to the complex administrative puzzle of dealing with open borders, the ability to verify lawful residence and the right to social assistance over time. This article makes an analytical and empirical contribution to existing literature by asking how Member States adjust their welfare/migration administrations to fit the Union’s free movement regime and what implications this has for Union citizens. Based upon comparative case studies into the administration of social assistance rights in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, the article develops a typology of three different models of administering Union citizens’ access to the welfare state: the form, signal and delegation models. Demonstrating how bureaucratic design impacts the stratification of social rights in the Member States in different ways, the article concludes that studying alternative administrative models offers important insights into the functioning of territorial welfare states in open border regimes.

Breaking the Mold

2019 ◽  
pp. 92-173
Author(s):  
Jason Beckfield
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
Political Inequality ◽  
European Welfare State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Distribution Of Income

This chapter describes how the resources generated by the integrated European economy have been distributed as social rights of citizenship. As the European economy has developed, have European welfare states expanded, stabilized, or retrenched? These trends and effects matter because they reveal the changing structure of political inequality in Europe, and because the European welfare state has a strong effect on the distribution of income across European households. The first part of the chapter addresses the question of whether the development of the integrated European economy contributed to expansion of the social rights of citizenship, which would be a sign of reduced political inequality within European nations. The second part addresses the subject of political inequality in Europe as an integrating whole more directly by engaging with the convergence debate: with respect to citizenship rights, does it now matter more or less which national political economy one inhabits?

scholarly journals Welfare without rent seeking? Buchanan’s demogrant proposal and the possibility of a constitutional welfare state

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Lehto ◽  
John Meadowcroft
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Rent Seeking ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Constitutional Political Economy ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Majoritarian Democracy ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Future Task ◽  
Negative Income Tax

AbstractIn a number of works, James M. Buchanan set out a proposal for a ‘demogrant’—a form of universal basic income that applied the principles of generality and non discrimination to the tax and the transfer sides of the scheme and was to be implemented as a constitutional rule outside the realm of day-to-day politics. The demogrant has received surprisingly little scholarly attention, but this article locates it in Buchanan’s broader constitutional political economy project and shows it was a logical application of his theoretical framework to the problem of inefficient and unfair welfare systems when reform to the basic institutions of majoritarian democracy was not forthcoming. The demogrant aims to end the problems of majority cycling and rent seeking that plague contemporary welfare states and therefore offers a model of welfare without rent seeking—a constitutional welfare state. We compare Buchanan’s demogrant model to other universal basic income and negative income tax models and consider the most important criticisms. We conclude that rescuing the demogrant model from relative obscurity would be a fruitful future task of applied constitutional political economy and public choice.

scholarly journals The Benefit non-take-up in the Context of Cash Social Assistance Reform in Lithuania

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 96-121
Author(s):  
Tautvydas Vencius ◽  
Vitalija Gabnytė ◽  
Jekaterina Navickė
Keyword(s):  
Social Assistance ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
System Reform ◽  
Economic Cycle ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Single Person ◽  
The Right ◽  
Annual Average Number

The purpose of this article is to present the results of cash social assistance (CSA) benefit non-take-up in the context of the CSA system reform in Lithuania. The right to adequate minimum income benefits is one of the 20 key principles under the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). Using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD we seek to identify all those eligible to CSA benefit and to analyse its non-take-up rates in Lithuania. The analysis for 2016 showed that CSA benefit non-take-up in Lithuania was around 22%. This means that around one fifth of those who are entitled to this benefit do not get it for various reasons. The results show that there are two types of households, with a non-take-up rate exceeding 30%: single person and lone parent households. The dynamics of CSA benefit non-take-up between 2007-2016 were strongly negatively correlated to the annual average number of recipients of the CSA benefit. This makes for a counter-cyclical dynamic of the CSA non-take-up relative to the economic growth cycle. We find some evidence of an increase in the CSA non-take-up rate following the recent CSA reform in Lithuania. Further analysis is needed to distinguish between the effects of the economic cycle and the CSA reform.

scholarly journals Dano and Alimanovic: the recent evolution of CJEU caselaw on EU citizenship and cross-border access to social benefits

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Rui Lanceiro
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Member States ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right

Since its inception, the concept of EU citizenship, as well as the rights and duties deriving therefrom, has evolved considerably, particularly in the area of social rights. ECJ case law has played a central role in defining the right of EU citizens to access social benefits in the host Member States, which meant a decrease in their degree of discretion to restrict the access to national social securities systems. However, the recent Dano and Alimanovic judgments represent a significant change from previous case-law, setting limits on the right of EU citizens to social benefits in the host Member States. The right of residence in another Member State appears to be dependent on the status of a worker citizen in accordance with the new methodology in order to avoid being an excessive burden on the social system of the host Member State. However, the new approach still leaves several unanswered questions. Were these decisions an attempt to address the “social security tourism” debate? Is the CJEU falling behind with regard to the protection of social rights? What will remain of previous jurisprudence?

scholarly journals Healthcare in the light of the concept of welfare state regimes – comparative analysis of EU member states

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Kawiorska
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Welfare State Regimes ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

This  paper  addresses  issues  related to health care in the context of the debate about the typology of welfare state regimes and comparative studies conducted in reference to the debate. Particular attention has been paid to the phenomenon of decommodification as one of the key dimensions that define welfare regimes identified in the literature associated with this debate. The study presents a health decommodification index, on the basis of which an attempt has been made to assess the decommodification potential of health care, taking into account the situation in the 28 EU Member States in 2012. The identification of a widely understood accessibility of publicly funded health care as a basic measure for assessing the decommodifying features of health programs is an important result of the empirical analysis. The study has also confirmed the views expressed in the literature about the existence of practical obstacles standing in the way of developing a universal typology of welfare states.

scholarly journals Exploring the Links between Residence and Social Rights for Economically Inactive EU Citizens

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Mantu ◽  
Paul Minderhoud
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Member States ◽  
Permanent Residence ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
Assistance Systems

Abstract This article examines the links between residence and social rights in the context of EU citizens’ mobility. It builds on national replies to a questionnaire concerning the implementation and application of Directive 2004/38 at the national level. Our focus is on how the EU28 are implementing the provisions on social assistance for economically inactive EU citizens, including five relevant European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgments in this area (Brey, Dano, Alimanovic, Garcia-Nieto and Commission v UK) and the provisions on permanent residence status. Based on the national replies we argue that asking for social benefits becomes a first step towards being considered by the administration as an unreasonable burden, which leads to the termination of EU residence rights. Our analysis shows that asserting and maintaining residence rights under Articles 7 and 16 of Directive 2004/38 is becoming problematic for certain categories of EU citizens and linked with the more restrictive position taken by some Member States in relation to accessing their national social assistance systems.

scholarly journals Measuring the Generosity of Parental Leave Policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Otto ◽  
Alzbeta Bártová ◽  
Wim Van Lancker
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
State Research ◽  
Cash Benefits

In order to investigate and compare welfare states or specific welfare programmes, scientists, opinion‐makers and politicians rely on indicators. As many of the concepts or objects studied are somewhat abstract, these indicators can often only be approximations. In comparative welfare‐state research, scholars have suggested several approximating indicators to quantitatively measure and compare the generosity of public welfare provision, with a special focus on cash benefits. These indicators include social spending, social rights and benefit receipt. We present these indicators systematically, and critically discuss how suitable they are for comparing the generosity of parenting leave policies in developed welfare states. Subsequently, we illustrate how the operationalisation of leave generosity by means of different indicators can lead to different rankings, interpretations and qualifications of countries. Hence, indicator choices have to be considered carefully and suitably justified, depending on the actual research interest.

scholarly journals Social rights and social policy: the relationship and interdependence

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 354-357
Author(s):  
Turchyn M. M.
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
General System ◽  
World Market ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Orientation ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Right To Health Care ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Right

In the general system of rights and freedoms of modern man a special place is occupied by social rights, which are designed to provide each person with a fair and dignified life, to create conditions for his proper physical and social existence, social and professional activities and more. Everyone daily realizes or at least seeks to realize at least one social right guaranteed to him by a democratic state governed by the rule of law. These include such important social rights as the right to education, the right to work, the right to health care, the right to rest, the right to housing, the right to a decent and timely wage, and so on. Only a state with a high level of economic development can be social, and the social orientation of the state must be taken into account in the structure of the economy. According to some scholars, the moment of the real emergence of welfare states should be attributed to the sixties of the twentieth century. When identifying as a priority function of socio-economic development the direction of ensuring the country's competitiveness in the world market, which today is almost the main principle of economic development of any state, we can not simultaneously neglect the function of social integration and consolidation of society, according to a number of studies, significantly increases the vulnerability of the population to the challenges of social risks, especially in a modern pandemic. Key words: law, social rights, social policy, human rights, legislation.

Bullets and Benefits in the Israeli Welfare State

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Shalev ◽  
John Gal
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Crowding Out ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Territorial Conflicts ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation

The unresolved territorial conflicts and outbreaks of violence that have characterized the history of Israel make it distinctive among welfare states in affluent democracies. The war which accompanied the founding of the state in 1948 was quickly followed by the creation of a dedicated system of veterans’ benefits. Both the demand and supply of military-related benefits has been repeatedly refuelled by ongoing conflict and war preparation. These benefits have grown in both generosity and coverage, while at the same time having a crowding-out effect on parallel civilian programmes. This chapter documents the resulting dualistic character of social rights in Israel, and explains the institutional, political, and cultural dynamics that have driven the evolution of military-related benefits.

scholarly journals Social Rights of EU Migrant Citizens: Britain and Germany Compared

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Bruzelius ◽  
Elaine Chase ◽  
Martin Seeleib-Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate

European migrant citizens and their social rights are strongly contested in British political debate. This article seeks to challenge some common concerns and perceptions regarding the exceptionality of the British welfare state and the alleged ‘costs’ to it from intra-EU migration. The article first provides a brief overview of the foundations for EU citizenship and associated social rights, highlighting the semi-sovereign nature of welfare states in the European Union. It then (i) rejects the significance of the often-claimed difference between contributory and non-contributory welfare states in the context of EU migration; and (ii) challenges concerns about the costs of EU migration. The article contrasts the experiences of Britain and Germany. It concludes by considering how concerns often associated with EU migration can be addressed by improving administrative and state capacities.

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