Absolute poverty and social protection in the EU: a cross-national comparison

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-266
Author(s):  
Stefanos Papanastasiou
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Material Deprivation ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Comparison ◽  
The Eu

This chapter offers an empirical exploration of extreme poverty trends and patterns in the EU from a welfare regime perspective. Extreme poverty is operationalized as severe material deprivation, that is, the enforced inability to pay for a certain amount of goods and services. The empirical findings indicate that extreme poverty is low in the countries of the Social-democratic welfare regime and high in the countries of the South-European and the Liberal regime, whereas the countries of the Conservative-Corporatist welfare regime place themselves in-between.

Between entrepreneurs and workers: Cleavages and compromises in rationales and policy solutions regarding ‘dependent contractors’

2021 ◽  
pp. 0143831X2110303
Author(s):  
Louis Florin ◽  
François Pichault
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Narrative Policy Framework ◽  
Policy Solutions ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Labour Regulation

The emergence of dependent contractors challenges the existing institutions regarding social protection and labour regulation. This article aims at identifying the political narratives that explain the emergence of New Forms of Employment (NFE) and dependent contracting along with the policy solutions proposed by the social partners at the EU and international level. By analysing policy documents from the social partners through the lens of a qualitative version of the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), the authors indentify two distinct narratives – ‘devaluation of work’ and ‘entrepreneurship and flexibility’. The authors show how these rationales lead to various policy solutions and identify oppositions and possible compromise.

scholarly journals Worlds of welfare collide

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Gráinne McKeever ◽  
Mark Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Conservative System ◽  
Unemployment Benefit ◽  
Unemployment Benefits ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Asymmetric Shocks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
The Eu

The post-2007 financial crisis has brought renewed interest in a European Unemployment Benefit Scheme (EUBS) as a manifestation of solidarity between citizens of different Member States and an economic stabiliser in the event of future asymmetric shocks. The EU-wide benefit would operate in tandem with existing national unemployment benefits. This creates challenges of compatibility given the diversity of approaches to social security within the Union, based on at least four philosophies of welfare: liberal, conservative, social democratic and southern European. This article examines potential legal, operational and political difficulties associated with marrying a EUBS that is at heart a conservative system of social insurance to the UK’s liberal welfare state. Few legal obstacles exist and although the addition of a new, earnings-related benefit to an already complex mix of social protection would raise significant operational issues, these need not be insurmountable. However, fundamental ideological differences would have rendered the EUBS as proposed politically ill-matched with the UK even absent the June 2016 vote to leave the EU. A contributory income maintenance benefit is a poor fit with a residual, largely means-tested national system whose role is limited to offering protection against severe poverty while maintaining work incentives and minimising costs.

The Political Economy of Work and Welfare

2021 ◽  
pp. 422-444
Author(s):  
Micheál L. Collins ◽  
Mary P. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sectoral Composition ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Institutional Architecture

The political economy of Irish work and welfare has dramatically changed over recent decades. Since the 1980s, Ireland has experienced two periods of high unemployment followed by two periods of full employment. Alongside this, we see considerable shifts in both the sectoral composition of the workforce and in the institutional architecture underpinning the labour market. Focusing on the last decade, this chapter contextualizes the Irish labour market in the Irish growth model, highlighting issues including occupational upgrading, low pay, gender composition, and migration. The chapter then explores links between this employment structure and Ireland’s changing welfare regime. It considers recent institutional changes, as the welfare regime shifted to a work-first form of activation, and the long-term sustainability of the social protection system. The chapter concludes by highlighting what we see as the core challenges for the political economy of work and welfare in Ireland.

scholarly journals Migration and Access to Welfare Benefits in the EU: The Interplay between Residence and Nationality

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Daniela Vintila ◽  
Jean-Michel Lafleur
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Migration History ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Societal Dynamics ◽  
Social Protection Systems ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Increasing mobility to and from European Union (EU) countries has started to challenge the principles of territoriality and national citizenship through which European democracies traditionally conditioned access to social benefits. Existing typologies of immigrant social protection regimes do not seem to adequately capture (nor explain) the diverse repertoire of policy configurations through which European welfare regimes adapt to migration-driven societal dynamics. This introductory chapter provides a critical reflection on the link between migration and access to welfare in the EU. In doing so, it aims to propose a comprehensive analytical framework that allows for a systematic comparison of the inclusiveness of social protection systems towards mobile individuals. We argue that states’ responsiveness towards the social protection needs of their immigrant and emigrant populations has to be examined through a combination of factors, including the characteristics of these populations, the migration history of these countries, as well as the main features of their welfare state.

scholarly journals Reliance on long-term care as a “new” social risk in national and EU law

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Grega Strban ◽  
Sara Bagari
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Eu

There have always been people who cannot take care of their daily needs and are reliant on care. However, due to higher life expectancy and low birth rates, changes in lifestyle and increased mobility, reliance on long-term care is becoming a general risk in life. Therefore, it must be provided with social protection. In this respect, the criteria for shaping the (new) social risk of reliance on long-term care are also fulfilled. Although different benefits are already provided within different parts of the social security system, the paper discusses that the best option is to define reliance on long-term care as an independent social risk. Furthermore, we must ensure that providing long-term care will not turn out to be a double social risk. The issue has to be addressed at the national and at the EU level.

scholarly journals Brexit and the Reshaping of British Electoral Politics

2019 ◽  
pp. 163-187
Author(s):  
Edward Fieldhouse ◽  
Jane Green ◽  
Geoffrey Evans ◽  
Jonathan Mellon ◽  
Christopher Prosser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
The Social ◽  
Party Support ◽  
Demographic Patterns ◽  
First Time ◽  
Fundamental Shift ◽  
The Eu

In this chapter we show how the vote to leave the EU in 2017 brought about a return to two-party politics and a fundamental shift in the social and geographical alignment of party support. Electoral competition between the two main parties previously dominated by concerns relating to redistribution, taxation, and an emphasis on the free market versus social protection now also focused almost equally on the EU, immigration, and liberal–authoritarian values. For the first time in modern history, economic left–right competition between Labour and the Conservatives was accompanied by a commensurate emphasis on a second cultural, or social, dimension of politics. This was also reflected in changes in the demographic patterns of party support, especially age and education.

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.

Social Security and Social Development in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 868-888
Author(s):  
Leila Patel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Social Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
The South ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social

Abstract: South Africa has made significant strides in growing its social security and social development system to reduce poverty and inequality since the advent of democracy in 1994. The country’s rights-based and redistributive social protection system builds on earlier social policies and was substantively refashioned to address the country’s colonial and apartheid legacy. This chapter documents the South African case with reference to the following themes: first, it sets out the social and economic challenges facing the country in relation to poverty and inequality. Second, it demonstrates the conceptual and policy significance of the South African case in relation to the rise of social protection policies to promote inclusive development in countries in the Global South. The South African welfare regime is the third theme. It focuses on the evolution of social security and social development, discusses the features of the approach, the nature and scope of social protection policies and their impacts. Finally, the chapter concludes by considering the policy issues and future trajectory of social protection in South Africa.

Welfare reforms and socio-economic trends in the 10 new EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Aidukaite
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
New Eu Member States ◽  
Better Than ◽  
The Eu

The paper reviews recent socio-economic changes in the 10 new EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe and the earlier and latest debates on the emergence of the post-communist welfare state regime. It asks two questions: are the new EU member states more similar to each other in their social problems encountered than to the rest of the EU world? Do they exhibit enough common socio-economic and institutional features to group them into the distinct/unified post-communist welfare regime that deviates from any well-known welfare state typology? The findings of this paper indicate that despite some slight variation within, the new EU countries exhibit lower indicators compared to the EU-15 as it comes to the minimum wage and social protection expenditure. The degree of material deprivation and the shadow economy is on average also higher if compared to the EU-15 or the EU-27. However, then it comes to at-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers or Gini index, some Eastern European outliers especially the Check Republic, but also Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary perform the same or even better than the old capitalist democracies. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, however, show many similarities in their social indicators and performances and this group of countries never perform better than the EU-15 or the EU-27 averages. Nevertheless, the literature reviews on welfare state development in the CEE region reveal a number of important institutional features in support of identifying the distinct/unified post-communist welfare regime. Most resilient of it are: an insurance-based programs that played a major part in the social protection system; high take-up of social security; relatively low social security benefits; increasing signs of liberalization of social policy; and the experience of the Soviet/Communist type of welfare state, which implies still deeply embedded signs of solidarity and universalism.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document