scholarly journals Prepare versus Repair? Combining parental leave and family allowances for social investment against single-parent poverty

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rense Nieuwenhuis ◽  
Laurie C. Maldonado
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Single Parent ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Income Transfers ◽  
Single Parent Families ◽  
Family Allowances ◽  
European Welfare States

Social investment is an emerging paradigm for European welfare states, often described as an abandonment of tax-benefit systems with generous income ‘transfers’ in favour of ‘in-kind’ policies and services.The position of single-parent families directly relates to one of the major critiques of the social investment strategy. Despite efforts to improve employment and make work pay to prevent poverty, European welfare states have witnessed disappointing trends in poverty (Vandenbroucke and Vleminckx, 2011). Cantillon (2011) argued that social investment policies are better suited for work-rich households than work- poor households at the bottom of the income distribution. is critique begs the empirical question whether a transition to ‘in kind’ social investment policies can be sufficiently effective in improving employment to protect households against poverty, or that reducing transfers has rendered tax-benefit systems inadequate (cf. Nelson, 2011). We examine this in this article, focusing on family policies. Specifically, we assess whether social investment (reconciliation policies) is a more effective strategy than social protection (family allowances) for single-parent families.

Must We All Be Paradigmatic? Social Investment Policies and Liberal Welfare States

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda A. White
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Family ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Policies And Programs

Abstract.This article examines whether current shifts in government spending on early childhood education and care (ECEC) and maternal employment-promoting policies such as maternity and parental leave reveal a paradigm shift toward a social investment strategy in liberal welfare states. It finds that while governments in liberal welfare states increasingly adhere to the rhetoric of social investment focused on lifelong learning and labour activation, their policies and programs exhibit so much variation in goals, instruments and settings related to the family, maternal employment and the child that it is difficult to claim that any new policy approach has taken hold that is indicative of a social investment “paradigm.” Instead, liberal welfare states appear to be becoming even more liberal—in terms of reliance on markets for delivery of social investment goals—at the same time as spending is increasing.Résumé.Cet article examine si les changements actuels des dépenses de gouvernement sur la première éducation d'enfance et le soin (ECEC) et les politiques promouvant emploi maternelles comme la maternité et le congé parental révèlent un changement de paradigme vers une stratégie sociale d'investissement dans les Etats-providences libéraux. Il constate que pendant que les gouvernements dans les Etats-providences libéraux adhèrent de plus en plus à la rhétorique d'investissement social s'est concentré sur l'apprentissage de toute une vie et l'activation de la main-d'œuvre, leurs politiques et programmes exposent tant de variation dans les buts, les instruments et les cadres rattachés à la famille, l'emploi maternel et l'enfant qu'il est difficile de réclamer que n'importe quelle nouvelle approche de politique a attrapé qui est indicatif “d'un paradigme” social d'investissement. Au lieu de cela les Etats-providences libéraux ont l'air de devenir encore plus libéraux – du point de vue de la dépendance aux marchés pour la livraison de buts sociaux d'investissement – en même temps comme les dépenses augmentent.

scholarly journals From Social Protection to Social Investment

2021 ◽  
pp. 343-394
Author(s):  
Olaf van Vliet ◽  
Vincent Bakker ◽  
Lars van Doorn
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
European Welfare States

Globalization, technological change, and migration form three major challenges for European welfare states in the 21st century. These challenges are regarded as important sources of inequality on the labour market. Whereas the existing literature has mainly been focused on the sectors and occupations affected by globalization and technological change, the authors of this chapter argue that, via job polarization, these phenomena also affect the type of contract that workers have. They hypothesize that increased competition for low-paying jobs is associated with labour market flexibilization. Another major trend that they analyse is the free movement of labour. New data illustrate that labour migration from Central and Eastern European countries to Western European countries has grown slowly but substantially following recent enlargements of the Union. It has been considered a challenge for welfare states as it might contribute to feelings of economic insecurity and might erode solidarity, which forms the basis for the provision of social policy. Subsequently, the authors analyse how European welfare states have evolved over the past decades. They show that in spite of budgetary pressure stemming from globalization and migration, most countries have increased social expenditure. Furthermore, they analyse to what extent the focus has shifted from classical social protection to social investment policies to enable workers to adapt themselves to new labour market transformations. They contribute to the existing literature by covering years after the financial crisis for all EU member states and by demonstrating a novel way of correcting social expenditures for the number of recipients.

When voters favour the social investment welfare state

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-205
Author(s):  
Marc Brazzill ◽  
Hideko Magara ◽  
Yuki Yanai
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
The Social

AbstractWe investigate when voters favour social investment. Welfare states have transformed their core policies as a result of low economic growth and fiscal pressures. The social investment strategy, such as broader education provision and promotion of women's employment, aims at shifting the economy from the traditional Keynesian welfare state to the high-productivity economy by encouraging long-term and inclusive human capital formation. Social investment is popular among citizens in many developed economies, especially in the EU where governments promote social investment as part of their welfare policy packages. However, in Japan, the term ‘social investment’ is rarely used in policy discussions. Consequently, we ask what levels of voter support social investment policies have in such an environment; which voter characteristics are associated with social investment support; and whether voter support for social investment differs when placed in a broader policy context. To answer these questions, we conducted an online survey with a conjoint experiment. Our data analysis shows that social investment policies are popular among Japanese people, despite a lack of familiarity with the concept of social investment. We find that social libertarians and female respondents are more likely than social authoritarians and male respondents to support social investment. In addition, there is some evidence that higher income voters are favourable to social investment policies. Furthermore, voter support for social investment depends on the policy context. Support becomes weaker when social investment policies are presented in combination with decreasing levels of social security spending. Our results highlight what kinds of social investment policies could be achieved without damaging electoral fortunes.

A Social Investment Turn in East Asia?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Fleckenstein ◽  
Soohyun Christine Lee
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Employment Participation

The welfare states of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan were built by conservative elites to serve the project of late industrialization, and for this reason the East Asian developmental welfare state focused its resources on those who were deemed most important for economic development (especially male industrial workers). Starting in the 1990s and increasingly since the 2000s, the developmental welfare state has experienced a far-reaching transformation, including the expansion of family policy to address the post-industrial challenges of female employment participation and low fertility. This chapter assesses social investment policies in East Asia, with a focus on family policy and on the South Korean case, where the most comprehensive rise of social investment policies were observed.

Social Risks and Class in the Baltic States: Insights for Social Investment Strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-97
Author(s):  
Daiva Skuciene ◽  
Jurgita Markeviciute
Keyword(s):  
Lower Class ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Lower Middle Class ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Baltic

The understanding of the distribution of social risks according to social classes can ensure more targeted social investment policies. This article aims to analyze the distribution of social risks according to the social classes in the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The micro data used in this analysis are collected from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data base of 2015 covering the three Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The findings of this analysis revealed that in many cases, the distribution of social risks is related to social class. However, the findings suggest there is a higher probability of certain social risks among members of the lower middle class than those who are employed in lower class elementary (basic skills) occupations.

scholarly journals Social Investment, Redistribution or Basic Income? Exploring the Association Between Automation Risk and Welfare State Attitudes in Europe

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
MARIUS R. BUSEMEYER ◽  
ALEXANDER H. J. SAHM
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Rapid technological change – the digitalization and automation of work – is challenging contemporary welfare states. Most of the existing research, however, focuses on its effect on labor market outcomes, such as employment or wage levels. In contrast, this paper studies the implications of technological change for welfare state attitudes and preferences. Compared to previous work on this topic, this paper adopts a much broader perspective regarding different kinds of social policy. Using data from the European Social Survey, we find that individual automation risk is positively associated with support for redistribution, but negatively with support for social investment policies (partly depending on the specific measure of automation risk that is used), while there is no statistically significant association with support for basic income. We also find a moderating effect of the overall size of the welfare state on the micro-level association between risk and preferences.

Who benefits from social investment? The gendered effects of family and employment policies on cardiovascular disease in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Ann Morris ◽  
Jason Beckfield ◽  
Clare Bambra
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Cvd Mortality

BackgroundIn the context of fiscal austerity in many European welfare states, policy innovation often takes the form of ‘social investment’, a contested set of policies aimed at strengthening labour markets. Social investment policies include employment subsidies, skills training and job-finding services, early childhood education and childcare and parental leave. Given that such policies can influence gender equity in the labour market, we analysed the possible effects of such policies on gender health equity.MethodsUsing age-stratified and sex-stratified data from the Global Burden of Disease Study on cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality between 2005 and 2010, we estimated linear regression models of policy indicators on employment supports, childcare and parental leave with country fixed effects.FindingsWe found mixed effects of social investment for men versus women. Whereas government spending on early childhood education and childcare was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for both men and women equally, government spending on paid parental leave was more strongly associated with lower CVD mortality rates for women. Additionally, government spending on public employment services was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for men but was not significant for women, while government spending on employment training was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for women but was not significant for men.ConclusionsSocial investment policies were negatively associated with CVD mortality, but the ameliorative effects of specific policies were gendered. We discuss the implications of these results for the European social investment policy turn and for future research on gender health equity.

scholarly journals From social security to social investment? Compensating and social investment welfare policies in a life-course perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 442-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Kuitto
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Path Dependent

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the forms and characteristics of social investment policies and their potential trade-off with social security schemes by assessing developments of welfare spending profiles in 23 European welfare states in the 2000s. I argue that if a social investment turn has indeed occurred, it is not necessarily at the cost of the ‘old’ compensatory policies. Instead, social investment policies and their relation to compensating welfare policies alter with regard to policies targeted at different life-stages and to the type of welfare regime. Therefore, the results attest to a path-dependent trend within the welfare regimes, the Nordic countries remaining clear forerunners in terms of both level and dynamics of social investment policies. European social investment strategies manifest mainly in policies targeting childhood and youth, while a trade-off between social investment and compensating policies is evident in working-age policies to some degree.

scholarly journals Which Roads (if any) to Social Investment? The Recalibration of EU Welfare States at the Crisis Crossroads (2000–2014)

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFANO RONCHI
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Lisbon Strategy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fiscal Space ◽  
European Welfare States ◽  
Welfare Expenditure

AbstractThe social investment approach has been advocated as a blueprint for recasting European welfare states since the years of the Lisbon Strategy. After the Euro crisis squeezed the fiscal space available for welfare recalibration, the question has been raised as to whether social investment could withstand the economic turmoil. Relying on a new welfare expenditure dataset constructed from various Eurostat sources, this article looks at the budgetary recalibration of 27 EU welfare states from the launch of the Lisbon Strategy to the aftermath of the Euro crisis (2000 to 2014). It compares the financial efforts that governments have put into social investment- and social protection-oriented policies, highlighting the different trajectories taken by EU welfare states at the crisis crossroads. Four scenarios for welfare recalibration are put forward, based on the social investment perspective and its critiques. The results show that the overall progress made by social investment in welfare budgets since 2000 came to a halt with the outbreak of the crisis. Bleaker scenarios materialised, whereas EU welfare states pursued retrenchment rather than investment, or had to face harsher budgetary trade-offs, expanding social investment to the detriment of social protection.

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