Social Inequalities in “Sickness”: Does Welfare State Regime Type Make a Difference? A Multilevel Analysis of Men and Women in 26 European Countries

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjetil A. van der Wel
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Multilevel Analysis ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Regime Type ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
State Regime

Social Inequalities in “Sickness”: Does Welfare State Regime Type Make a Difference? A Multilevel Analysis of Men and Women in 26 European Countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjetil A. van der Wel ◽  
Espen Dahl ◽  
Karsten Thielen
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Limiting Longstanding Illness ◽  
The Face ◽  
State Regime

In comparative studies of health inequalities, public health researchers have usually studied only disease and illness. Recent studies have also examined the sickness dimension of health, that is, the extent to which ill health is accompanied by joblessness, and how this association varies by education within different welfare contexts. This research has used either a limited number of countries or quantitative welfare state measures in studies of many countries. In this study, the authors expand on this knowledge by investigating whether a regime approach to the welfare state produces consistent results. They analyze data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC); health was measured by limiting longstanding illness (LLSI). Results show that for both men and women reporting LLSI in combination with low educational level, the probabilities of non-employment were particularly high in the Anglo-Saxon and Eastern welfare regimes, and lowest in the Scandinavian regime. For men, absolute and relative social inequalities in sickness were lowest in the Southern regime; for women, inequalities were lowest in the Scandinavian regime. The authors conclude that the Scandinavian welfare regime is more able than other regimes to protect against non-employment in the face of illness, especially for individuals with low educational level.

scholarly journals A MACRO-COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF WELFARE STATE CONVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
Ágnes OROSZ ◽  
◽  
Norbert SZIJÁRTÓ ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Comparative Assessment ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Welfare ◽  
State Regime

In this paper, we provide a macro-comparative assessment of welfare state convergence. Using the welfare state regime approach, the paper analyses the development of main welfare state indicators within in the enlarged European Union. In this study we capitalize on descriptive statistics and a single convergence analysis based on standard deviation in order to capture alterations in national welfare models of 26 European countries and among acknowledged welfare regimes. Our fundamental aim is to seize on long-term processes (convergence, divergence, or persistence), so we cover almost a two-decade period starting at 2000. Our results, in general, suggest that convergence among welfare states (different indicator of social spending) of European countries is particularly weak, however convergence inside welfare regimes is significantly stronger apart from the Anglo-Saxon group. The pre-crisis period was characterized by a stronger convergence among European countries as a consequence of economic prosperity and intense EU intervention.

Welfare State Regimes and Caseworkers’ Problem Explanation

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 1425-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Østergaard Møller ◽  
Helena Olofsdotter Stensöta
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Regime Type ◽  
Structural Problem ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Individual Client ◽  
State Regime ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Welfare State Regimes

In frontline bureaucracy research, the dominant view holds that frontline workers resist managerial pressure to “blame the poor” by bending the rules based on moral considerations, a practice labeled “citizen agency.” We suggest that frontline responses to managerial pressure are filtered through welfare state regime type. Based on in-depth study of caseworker reasoning in Sweden and Denmark, we find a “structural problem explanation” that sees reasons for clients seeking support as rooted in the structures of society—not in the individual client. We find and present two narratives hitherto not problematized in frontline bureaucracy research: the “statesperson” and the “professional.”

The Politics of Population Aging in Singapore and Taiwan

Asian Survey ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba ◽  
Chien-Kai Chen
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
European Countries ◽  
State Model ◽  
Regime Type ◽  
Similar System ◽  
Social Welfare State

Regime type—from authoritarian to democratic—is an important factor in determining the politics of aging and can explain why Singapore has embraced a “Confucian welfare state” model that emphasizes society’s responsibility, while Taiwan has gone from a similar system to a social welfare state more reminiscent of European countries.

The Truncated German Social Investment Turn

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Seeleib-Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
First Century ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Political Determinants ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Regime ◽  
Policy Transformations ◽  
Veto Points

Traditionally Germany has been categorized as the archetypical conservative welfare state, a categorization not systematically questioned in much of the comparative welfare state regime literature. For many scholars Germany was largely stuck and unable to reform its coordinated market economy and welfare state arrangements at the turn of the twenty-first century, due to a large number of veto points and players and the dominance of two ‘welfare state parties’. More recent research has highlighted a widening and deepening of the historically institutionalized social protection dualism, whilst at the same time significant family policy transformations, which can be considered as partially in line with the social investment paradigm, have been emphasized. This chapter sets out to sketch the main policy developments and aims to identify political determinants of social policy change in Germany.

scholarly journals Aging and Gender Health Gap: A Multilevel Analysis for 17 European Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Gómez-Costilla ◽  
Carmen García-Prieto ◽  
Noelia Somarriba-Arechavala
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Population Group ◽  
European Population ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Inequalities In Health ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Health Gap ◽  
Eastern European Countries

AbstractThe European population is aging and their declining capacity makes older Europeans more dependent on the availability of care. Male and female health needs at older ages are different, yet there are contradictory results on the study of gender inequalities in health among the older European population. The aim of this article is twofold: first, we study whether there is a general gender health gap at older ages across Europe. Secondly, we analyze the existence of an increasing or decreasing universal association between the gender health gap and age among the older European population or whether, by contrast, this depends on the type of welfare state. To achieve these goals, we use data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for respondents aged 50 and over in 2015, and we carry out several multilevel random intercept logistic regressions for European countries. Our results show that when we split European countries into groups according to the type of welfare state, we only find a significant gender health gap in older people in Southern and Social Democratic countries. Some differences have been found in the links between the gender health gap and age among European countries. Old women report worse health than men at all ages in Southern countries while in Social Democratic states it is only true for women aged 80 and over. In Bismarckian states there are barely any gender differences, while the gender health gap has no clearly defined bias. Between the ages of 60 and 79, men from Eastern European countries report poorer health, while after 80 it is women who report poorer health. In general, we found the widest gender inequalities in health for the oldest population group, especially in Southern and Eastern European countries.

Social inequalities in overweight and obesity in 26 European countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Charafeddine ◽  
S Demarest ◽  
S Drieskens ◽  
F Renard
Keyword(s):  
Weight Status ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Reverse Inequality ◽  
Socially Disadvantaged ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Low Educated

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown inequalities in overweight and obesity in disfavor of the socially disadvantaged groups. This study examines the extent of these inequalities in 26 European countries. Methods Data from the 2017 EU Statistics on Income and living Conditions (EU-SILC) were used (18 years and older, n = 482,595). A body mass index of 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m2 was classified as overweight and 30.0 and more as obese. Educational level (EL) was used as socioeconomic indicator. Generalized linear models were fitted to compute low-versus high absolute (RD) and relative (RR) inequality. Absolute inequality amplitude (RDA) was calculated as RD/Prevalence. Results Among men, average EU inequalities for overweight were slightly in disfavor of the low educated (RR = 1.05, RDA=5%). A mixed inequality pattern was observed across countries, as the risk of overweight was higher among high educated men in most Eastern countries, in contrast to other parts of Europe (RR from 0.74 to 1.19, RDA from -27% to 20%). Male obesity showed more pronounced inequalities (RR = 1.22, RDA=18%), and a consistent pattern of higher risk among the low educated and wide variation across countries (RR from 1.20 to 2.18, RDA from 16% to 49%). Among women, significant inequalities in overweight were observed (RR = 1.23, RDA=21%), with a consistent pattern of higher risk among the lowest EL, and substantial variation across countries (RR from 1.06 to 1.53, RDA from 7% to 36%). Inequalities were even larger for female obesity, with average RR and RDA reaching 1.49 and 35%, and wider variation (RR from 1.35 to 2.77, RDA from 12% to 88%). Conclusions Social inequalities in weight status are widespread in Europe, but vary substantially between countries. Inequalities are larger among women. For male overweight, a reverse inequality is observed in most Eastern countries. This study allows countries to benchmark the inequalities observed nationally to the situation in other EU countries. Key messages Social inequalities in weight status are widespread in Europe. The pattern of social inequalities in overweight and obesity varies substantially by country and gender.

scholarly journals Two hearts and a loan? Mortgages, employment insecurity and earnings among young couples in six European countries

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 2451-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia M Dotti Sani ◽  
Claudia Acciai
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Logistic Models ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Employment Insecurity ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Employment Instability

Homeownership is increasingly understood by policy makers and social scientists as a fundamental asset against poverty risks, especially in times of economic uncertainty. However, in several Western countries, homeownership among younger generations appears to be increasingly difficult to achieve, likely a result of growing employment instability and stringent criteria to access credit. This article uses multinomial logistic models and nationally representative EU-SILC data from six European countries to examine (a) to what extent precarious employment among young couples is linked to being a mortgage holder; (b) whether earned income can compensate for employment instability in being a mortgagee; (c) cross-national differences in the relationship between being a mortgage holder, earnings, and employment insecurity. Our results indicate that the higher the levels of employment insecurity, the lower the chances of being a mortgage holder in all countries. Moreover, we find that at a given level of employment insecurity, households with higher levels of earned income have higher chances of being mortgage holders than households with lower earned income. However, while earned income has a stronger effect in achieving a mortgage among couples who have secure employment in Italy, earnings are more important among couples with lower levels of employment security in France, the UK, Spain and Poland. These results suggest that the relationship between social inequalities and housing is partially mediated by the national context.

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