The Social Construction of an Imperative: Why Welfare Reform Happened in Denmark and the Netherlands but Not in Germany

2001 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Henry Cox
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
German Unification ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
Slow Start ◽  
The Social ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Institutional Differences ◽  
Governing Institutions

This article seeks to explain why Denmark and the Netherlands made dramatic progress reforming their welfare systems in the 1990s and why Germany had a relatively slow start. Some possible explanations found to be incomplete are institutional differences in welfare programs, the uniqueness of circumstances (for example, German unification), and the balance of political power in governing institutions. An important part of the puzzle is an increasing perception of the need to reform that was more widespread in Denmark and the Netherlands. The social construction of an imperative to reform in these countries generated a political consensus that was elusive in Germany but that may be developing under Gerhard Schroder's government.

Religion, Class, and the Postwar Development of the Dutch Welfare State

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennie Oude Nijhuis
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Labor Union ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Christian Democracy ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Welfare Generosity ◽  
Post War ◽  
Distribution Of Income

This book examines how the Netherlands managed to create and maintain one of the world’s most generous and inclusive welfare systems despite having been dominated by Christian-democratic or ŸconservativeŒ, rather than socialist dominated governments, for most of the post-war period. It emphasizes that such systems have strong consequences for the distribution of income and risk among different segments of society and argues that they could consequently only emerge in countries where middle class groups were unable to utilize their key electoral and strong labor market position to mobilize against the adverse consequences of redistribution for them. By illustrating their key role in the coming about of solidaristic welfare reform in the Netherlands, the book also offers a novel view of the roles of Christian-democracy and the labor union movement in the development of modern welfare states. By highlighting how welfare reform contributed to the employment miracle of the 1990s, the book sheds new light on how countries are able to combine high levels of welfare generosity and solidarity with successful macro-economic performance.

Unemployment in Open Economies

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAULETTE KURZER
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Open Economies ◽  
European Monetary System ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
European Experience ◽  
The Social ◽  
Institutional Differences

This article compares variations in the level of unemployment in four small, open economies-Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Rather than focusing on the political-institutional differences between these four countries, the article examines international economic variables such as the role of the European Monetary System, the structure of foreign trade, and linkages to international markets to understand the greater deterioration of employment in Belgium and the Netherlands. In turn, the decision to join the European Community and to seek firmer integration into financial markets is attributed to the relatively greater influence of banking capital or the financial sector in the systems of economic policy-making of Belgium and the Netherlands. The article concludes that the detachment of the Austrian and Swedish economies from the European experience in economic integration has greatly helped the Social Democrats in these countries in fulfilling their promises of full employment.

The Social Construction of Our Bodies

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1186-1186
Author(s):  
Garth J. O. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
The Social

The social construction of stay-at-home fathering across everyday spaces.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-205
Author(s):  
Heidi Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
The Social ◽  
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