The First Social Policy: Alcohol Control and Modernity in Policy Studies

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Lawrence Schrad
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Alcohol Control ◽  
Potential Risks

From modest beginnings in the systematic analysis of social insurance programs of advanced, industrialized countries, the scope of social policy studies has expanded to encompass myriad programs that seek to mitigate potential risks to employment, income, and economic security.1 At the same time, historical interest on policy development has extended back further in time to contextualize the otherwise excessive concentration on social policy developments of the twentieth century.2 Yet, as the boundaries of epistemology broaden, there remains a curious tendency among policy historians to maintain that what they are studying are the origins ofmodernsocial policies.3 Perhaps this focus on modernity is the outgrowth of a perceived need to have such research remain relevant to contemporary social policy debates. Whatever the reason, it does raise the question–What makes a social policymodern?4 To assume that particular social policies aremodernsuggests that there may be social policies that are not. Do there indeed exist social policies that might be thought of aspremodern?If so, do such premodern social policies differ from modern ones not only in terms of particular historical epochs but also in terms of more-substantive distinctions?

War and Social Policy Development in Switzerland, 1870–1990

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Leimgruber
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
State Building ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
The World ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Public Private Mix

This chapter explores the trajectory of social policy development in Switzerland and its interactions with state-building and military conflict from the Franco-Prussian war of the early 1870s to the end of the Cold War. This analysis confirms that, despite the fact that Switzerland has remained untouched by war for more than 150 years, military preparation and the world wars have had a crucial impact in the shaping of the distinctive public–private mix that distinguishes the Swiss welfare state from its immediate neighbours. Periods of war thus coincided not only with an expansion of state social insurance but also witnessed the consolidation of existing private social provision. The chapter also highlights how Switzerland’s distinctive militia-based conscription contributed to forge a male-centred social citizenship that lasted for decades after 1945.

Not home-made: Historical and contemporary social policy dynamics in Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-304
Author(s):  
Steffi Hamann
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Policy Dynamics ◽  
Sub Saharan

Social policy development trajectories in post-colonial sub-Saharan African states deviate from those in highly industrialized countries. Recent research endeavours established broad patterns of global interdependencies dating back to colonialism. This article contributes to these efforts by presenting a case study of the dynamics animating social policy development in Cameroon. It examines the progressive evolution of global determinants and their impacts on Cameroon’s welfare system over three periods: (1) decolonialization and post-colonial restructuring in the mid-20th century, (2) structural adjustment in response to the 1980s’ debt crisis and (3) the contemporary era of market liberalization driven by accelerated economic globalization. The research draws on a mixed-methods approach involving a document analysis and a survey administered in 400 rural households. Findings indicate that horizontal interdependencies were predominant in the establishment phase of Cameroon’s national social insurance scheme, but eventually gave way to vertical interdependencies in the 1980s. Recent efforts to advance economic liberalization represent a return to horizontal transnational forces, given the growing influence of multinational corporations on the country’s social security landscape. The study reinforces existing research insights in showing that, unlike social protection in the global north, social policy dynamics in Africa tend to actively contribute to the marginalization of underprivileged groups.

Citizenship

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Mettler ◽  
Alexis Walker
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Political Rights

Besides its impact on poverty, inequality, and economic security, social policy also bears crucial significance for the meaning and quality of citizenship in a political community. Historical research on American political development has revealed that ideas about citizenship played a central role in the development of social policy. Throughout U.S. history, policy makers have often justified social policies on the basis that they would develop Americans' civic capacity and inculcate participatory norms. In addition, U.S. social policy has shaped citizens' experiences of government and their political participation and attitudes. Established social policies have influenced citizens' ability to practice their political rights, the extent of solidarity or division in society, and people's inclination to engage in civic life. In sum, American civil and political rights cannot be fully understood apart from their interaction with social rights and provision. This essay offers an introduction to thinking about the relationship between citizenship and social policy. It considers the place of social policy in different theoretical understandings of citizenship in social science research. It explores the mechanisms through which social policies can influence citizenship, tracing their impact on: membership, identity, and belonging; political attitudes; and political participation and other forms of civic involvement. Finally, it considers the contemporary relationship between social policy and citizenship and offer directions for future research on this relationship.

Social Policy in Canada

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal L. Shier ◽  
John R. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Voluntary Sector ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Future Trends

The focus and aim of social policy in Canada have in part been determined by the unique sociohistorical and cultural context of the country. This entry provides a brief overview of the leading factors that have contributed to the development of social policy in Canada. Emphasis is placed on the economic, social, and cultural context of the development of the country, along with the system of governance and the ideological framework among the general populace. Following this contextualization, four dominant periods of social policy are described. These include the residual period, the emerging institutional period, the institutional period, and the postinstitutional period. In each era the forces leading to specific social policy outcomes are described. These include aspects of the changing economic system and emerging cultural and social needs among the population. Key social policies in each era are introduced and described. Fundamental to each period of social policy development are the efforts of the voluntary sector. In conclusion, future trends in social policy and social welfare in Canada are discussed.

Explaining Social Policy Adoption in South Korea: the Cases of the Medical Insurance Law and the Minimum Wage Law

1999 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAEHYUN JOO
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
South Korea ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Medical Insurance ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Insurance Law

Although policy priority has always been on economic management in East Asian countries, those countries also developed some notable social policies. However, explanations for the development of social policies in those countries have been relatively underdeveloped compared to those of their economic management policies. This study adds to our understanding of the social policy development in East Asia by examining two cases of social policy adoption in South Korea – the Medical Insurance Law and the Minimum Wage Law. This Korean case study shows a pattern of policy development primarily driven by particular ‘interests’ (state elites' perceived political survival needs and their reputation in international society), with ‘environmental’ factors and ‘policy legacies’ playing a supplementary role. In particular, these policies are interpreted as anticipatory concessions to moderate members of Korean society by the state elites who aimed to stabilise their regimes by separating radicals from moderates. In addition, the medical insurance scheme is understood as a by-product of the competition between the South and North Korean regimes. This study also draws our attention to such issues as the similarities and differences between the East Asian welfare regimes and the change and continuity in the development of social policies in East Asia.

scholarly journals The Moral Foundations of Child Health and Social Policies: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Avram E. Denburg ◽  
Mita Giacomini ◽  
Wendy J. Ungar ◽  
Julia Abelson
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Background: Allusions to the uniqueness and value of childhood abound in academic, lay, and policy discourse. However, little clarity exists on the values that guide child health and social policy-making. We review extant academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy to provide foundations for the development of child-focused public policies. Methods: We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis of academic literature on the normative dimensions of child health and social policy-making. We employed a social constructivist lens to interpret emergent themes. Political theory on the social construction of target populations served as a bridge between sociologies of childhood and public policy analysis. Results: Our database searches returned 14,658 unique articles; full text review yielded 72 relevant articles. Purposive sampling of relevant literature complemented our electronic searches, adding 51 original articles, for a total of 123 articles. Our analysis of the literature reveals three central themes: potential, rights, and risk. These themes retain relevance in diverse policy domains. A core set of foundational concepts also cuts across disciplines: well-being, participation, and best interests of the child inform debate on the moral and legal dimensions of a gamut of child social policies. Finally, a meta-theme of embedding encompasses the pervasive issue of a child’s place, in the family and in society, which is at the heart of much social theory and applied analysis on children and childhood. Conclusions: Foundational understanding of the moral language and dominant policy frames applied to children can enrich analyses of social policies for children. Most societies paint children as potent, vulnerable, entitled, and embedded. It is the admixture of these elements in particular policy spheres, across distinct places and times, that often determines the form of a given policy and societal reactions to it. Subsequent work in this area will need to detail the degree and impact of variance in the values mix attached to children across sociocultural contexts and investigate tensions between what are and what ought to be the values that guide social policy development for children.

scholarly journals The Age-Orientation of Social Policy Regimes in OECD Countries

2001 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA LYNCH
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Demographic Structure ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Education And Health

This article presents a series of measures of the extent to which social policies in twenty-one OECD countries are oriented towards the support of elderly (over 65 or in formal retirement) and non-elderly (under 65 and not retired) population groups. Employing breakdowns by age in spending on social insurance, education and health, tax expenditures on welfare substituting goods, and housing policy outcomes, this article shows that countries tend to demonstrate a consistent age-orientation across a variety of policy areas and instruments. After correcting for the demographic structure of the population, Greece, Japan, Italy, Spain and the United States have the most elderly-oriented social policy regimes, while the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and the Nordic countries have a more age-neutral repertoire of social policies. In identifying the age-orientation of social policy as a dimension of distributive politics that is not captured by other welfare state typologies, this article suggests the need to develop new accounts of the development of welfare states that include the dimension of age.

Conceptualizing and Theorizing Social Policy, Poverty, and Inequality

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-37
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
Policy Paradigm ◽  
Poverty And Inequality

The chapter conceptualizes and theorizes social policy in the context of poverty and inequality. Inequality and poverty are two concepts that are by definition multi-dimensional and, therefore, require a comprehensive approach. The chapter argues that different theories underpinned social policies of welfare states in their fight against extreme poverty and inequality. The chapter, therefore, seeks to examine the following concepts and theories as they influence the development and reform of social policies: conceptual clarifications of social policy, poverty, social exclusion and inclusion, social cohesion or equity, theoretical underpinnings that influence social policy development and reforms, and the new social policy paradigm.

The 2012 Cuts to Refugee Health Coverage in Canada: The Anatomy of a Social Policy Failure

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 905-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sheridan ◽  
Ketan Shankardass
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Federal Court ◽  
Refugee Health ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Policy Failure

AbstractIn 2012, Canada's federal government announced cuts to refugee health coverage. Evidence suggesting that the cuts represent a social policy failure has since been accumulating, including the 2014 Federal Court ruling ordering their reversal. This explanatory case study uncovers the problem definition process that led policy development by applying coding methods to governmental publications, transcripts of parliamentary proceedings and internal governmental correspondence obtained under the Access to Information Act. The systematic analysis identifies avoidable gaps that occurred and proposes an avenue for strengthening future federal social policy processes so as to avoid negative outcomes such as those that resulted here.

scholarly journals What Curbs Social Investment? The Effect of Foreign Electoral Outcomes on Childcare Expenditure Levels

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
SIMONE TONELLI
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Political Learning ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Electoral Defeat ◽  
New Policies

Abstract This study aims to deepen our understanding of social investment expansion proposing a political learning mechanism to link existing institutional and political explanations. When resources are limited, increased spending in social investment often comes at the expense of politically costly retrenchment of established social insurance policies. Previous studies suggest that this trade-off results in existing entitlements crowding out new policies, and that party ideology plays less of a role in determining social policy expansion. I argue that this is because parties face an electoral dilemma, as individual preferences for social investment and social insurance have been shown to differ between groups that partly overlap in their voting behaviour. Applying a policy diffusion framework to the analysis of childcare expenditure, this study proposes that policymakers learn from the political consequences of past decisions made by their foreign counterparts and update their policy choice accordingly. The econometric analysis of OECD data on childcare expenditure shows that governments tend to make spending decisions that follow those of ideologically similar cabinets abroad and that left-wing governments with a divided electorate tend to reduce childcare expenditure if a previous expansionary decision of a foreign incumbent is followed by an electoral defeat. The findings have implications for the study of the politics of social policy development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document