The Experts below are selected from a list of 163149 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Clare Bambra - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the Welfare State a glossary for public health
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2008Co-Authors: Terje Andreas Eikemo, Clare BambraAbstract:Recently, there has been a surge in comparative social epidemiology, and a sizeable amount of this has examined the relation between different aspects of the Welfare State and population health. Such research draws strongly, though usually implicitly, on Welfare State theories and concepts. In this glossary, we explicitly define these concepts in order to enable more researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to engage with and contribute to this exciting and fruitful area of public health research.
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defamilisation and Welfare State regimes a cluster analysis
International Journal of Social Welfare, 2007Co-Authors: Clare BambraAbstract:The role of gender as a source of social stratification within and between Welfare States is increasingly being paid attention to in the Welfare State regimes debate. Defamilisation has emerged as a potentially important concept in this context, as it enables the comparison and classification of Welfare States in terms of how they facilitate female autonomy and economic independence from the family. However, the methodology used or the understanding of the concept, limits existing defamilisation typologies. These typologies have therefore been unable to provide an accurate examination of Welfare State variation using this concept and indeed, have in some ways undermined and devalued the usefulness of defamilisation. This paper uses cluster analysis to build upon previous research and resurrect the concept of defamilisation. In contrast to existing work in this area, the analysis produces a five-fold typology of Welfare State regimes. This typology differs in many ways from existing models of Welfare State regimes, although some core countries emerge as regime ideal types. The paper concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of cluster analysis, and defamilisation, for Welfare State modelling and future research in this area.
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sifting the wheat from the chaff a two dimensional discriminant analysis of Welfare State regime theory
Social Policy & Administration, 2007Co-Authors: Clare BambraAbstract:Welfare State modelling has long been an important strand within comparative social policy. However, since the publication of Esping-Andersen's ‘Worlds of Welfare’ typology, Welfare State classification has become particularly prominent and a multitude of competing typologies and taxonomies have emerged. Each of these is based on different classification criteria, and each is trying to capture what a Welfare State actually does. The result is that the literature is in a State of confusion and inertia as it is unclear which of these rival systems is currently the most accurate and should be taken forward, and which are not and should perhaps be left behind. This article extends Bonoli's two-dimensional analysis of Welfare State regimes by using multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis to compare and contrast the various classifications on universal criteria. It also examines the usefulness of the two-dimensional approach itself and suggests how it can be enhanced to benefit future attempts at holistic Welfare State modelling. The article concludes that there are some Welfare State classifications that are more useful than others, especially in terms of reflecting a two-dimensional analysis: it thereby ‘sifts the wheat from the chaff’ in terms of Welfare State regime theory.
Andreas Bergh - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the universal Welfare State theory and the case of sweden
Political Studies, 2004Co-Authors: Andreas BerghAbstract:In the existing literature on Welfare State typologies, the concept of the universal Welfare State is not defined precisely enough to allow for comparisons of universality over time and between countries. In this paper, I discuss some problems with the way the term ‘the universal Welfare State’ has been used and I suggest possible solutions. Among other things, I propose that the term ‘universality’ be used to describe the provision of a specific Welfare benefit independently of individual income and/or other individual characteristics. It should also be used to describe the coverage of Welfare benefits rather than their size. Based on the theoretical discussion, a number of possible indicators of universality are applied to the case of Sweden in the 1990s. The conclusion is that, despite its economic crisis, universality in Sweden did not decrease.
Stefan Svallfors - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a bedrock of support trends in Welfare State attitudes in sweden 1981 2010
Social Policy & Administration, 2011Co-Authors: Stefan SvallforsAbstract:This article reports findings about Swedes' attitudes towards the Welfare State from 1981 to 2010, building on data from the Swedish Welfare State Surveys. Attitudes towards social spending, willingness to pay taxes, attitudes towards collective financing and public organization, suspicion about Welfare abuse, and trust in the task performance of the Welfare State are tracked. Overall, there is a large degree of stability in attitudes, and where change is registered, it tends to go in the direction of increasing support. More people State their willingness to pay higher taxes for Welfare policy purposes; more people want collective financing of Welfare policies; and fewer people perceive extensive Welfare abuse in 2010 than was the case in previous surveys. Class patterns change so that the salaried and the self-employed become more similar to workers in their attitudes. Hence, the unprecedented election loss of the Swedish Social Democrats in 2010, and the rise of the Moderates (conservatives) as the dominant party cannot be explained by changing attitudes towards the Welfare State. Nor can any corrosive effects from increased marketization of the Swedish Welfare State on public support for Welfare policies be detected.
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The Political Sociology of the Welfare State: Institutions, Social Cleavages, and Orientations - The Political Sociology of the Welfare State : Institutions, Social Cleavages, and Orientations
2007Co-Authors: Stefan SvallforsAbstract:The Political Sociology of the Welfare State : Institutions, Social Cleavages, and Orientations
Bo Rothstein - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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quality of government political power and the Welfare State
2010Co-Authors: Bo Rothstein, Marcus Samanni, Jan TeorellAbstract:Why have different industrialized capitalist market economies developed such varying systems for social protection and social insurance? The hitherto most successful theory for explaining this is the Power Resource Theory (PRT), according to which the generosity of the Welfare State is a function of working class mobilization. In this paper we argue however that there is an undertheorized link in the micro-foundations for PRT, namely why wage earners trying to handle the type of social risks and inequalities that are endemic for a market economy would turn to the State for the solution Our complementary approach, the Quality of Government (QoG) Theory, stresses the importance of trustworthy, reliable, impartial and reasonably uncorrupted government institutions as a precondition for citizens' willingness to support policies for social insurance and redistribution. Drawing on time-series crosssectional data on 18 OECD countries in 1984-2000, we find (a) that QoG positively affects the size and generosity of the Welfare State, and (b) that the effect of working class mobilization on Welfare State generosity is increasing in the level of QoG. Bo Rothstein The Quality of Government Institute Department of Political Science University of Gothenburg bo.rothstein@pol.gu.se Marcus Samanni The Quality of Government Institute Department of Political Science University of Gothenburg marcus.samanni@pol.gu.se Jan Teorell The Quality of Government Institute Department of Political Science University of Gothenburg jan.teorell@svet.lu.se
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making and breaking social capital the impact of Welfare State institutions
Comparative Political Studies, 2005Co-Authors: Staffan Kumlin, Bo RothsteinAbstract:Since the debate about the importance of social capital and civil society for the quality of democracy began, Scandinavia has caused problems. Observers have been bewildered by an allegedly paradoxical coexistence of a wealth of social capital and extensive Welfare-State arrangements. Some theorize that large Welfare States make engagement in voluntary associations unnecessary, making the production of social capital more difficult. However, empirical research shows Scandinavia to have comparatively high levels of social capital. To solve this paradox, the authors address how the causal mechanism between variation in the design of Welfare-State institutions and social capital works. The empirical analysis, based on Swedish survey data, suggests that the specific design of Welfare-State policies matters for the production of social capital. Contacts with universal Welfare-State institutions tend to increase social trust, whereas experiences with needs-testing social programs undermine it. The policy implic...
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Investing in Social Capital: The Impact of Welfare State Institutions
2003Co-Authors: Staffan Kumlin, Bo RothsteinAbstract:Ever since the start of the debate about the importance of social capital and civil society for the quality of democracy, the Scandinavian countries have been causing problems. In particular, observers have been bewildered by an allegedly paradoxical co-existence of a wealth of social capital and pervasive Welfare State arrangements. According to the social capital theory, large Welfare States should have made engagement in voluntary associations unnecessary thereby making the production of social capital more difficult. However, empirical research shows the Scandinavian countries to have comparatively high levels of social capital. To solve this paradox, we present a theory for how the causal mechanism between variation in the design government institutions and social capital works. The empirical analysis which is based on survey data, show support for the idea that it is the specific design of Welfare State policies that matters for the production of social capital. Contacts with universal Welfare State institutions tend to increase social trust, while experiences with needs-testing social programs undermines social trust The policy implications are that governments, by designing Welfare State institutions, can invest in social capital.
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just institutions matter the moral and political logic of the universal Welfare State
1998Co-Authors: Bo RothsteinAbstract:1. Speculation and discipline 2. The universal Welfare State and the question of individual autonomy 3. Is governance possible? 4. What can the State do? An analytical model 5. Just institutions matter 6. The political and moral logic of the universal Welfare State 7. Putting history in order 8. The autonomous citizen and the future of the universal Welfare policy 9. Toward a constructive theory of public policy Bibliography Index.
Amos Zehavi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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religious supply Welfare State restructuring and faith based social activities
Political Studies, 2013Co-Authors: Amos ZehaviAbstract:This article explores whether recent social and political developments have transformed religious organisations' involvement in Welfare activities. Most developed countries have undergone a process of secularisation in which the religious attachments of major segments of society, and also certain State institutions, have weakened. In recent years, Welfare State expansion has stalled and most Welfare States have entered an ‘age of austerity’. Changes in the Welfare State terrain – primarily restructuring – have transformed the opportunity structure faced by faith-based organisations. A survey of faith-based organisation involvement in Welfare across four countries – England, Israel, Germany and the Netherlands – reveals a complex picture. While in some countries Welfare State restructuring creates opportunities for faith-based organisations to expand their role, in others the combination of secularisation and restructuring create unfavourable conditions for these organisations.