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How Social Investments Can Increase Wellbeing. Jon Kvist Roskilde University. Edinburgh, June 16, 2014 . The Goal of the Welfare State?. To create a room where everybody can develop their human potential OR The sum of all public welfare policies OR Public policies aimed at developing
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How Social Investments Can IncreaseWellbeing Jon Kvist Roskilde University Edinburgh, June 16, 2014
The Goal of the Welfare State? • To create a room where everybody can develop their human potential OR • The sum of all public welfare policies OR • Public policies aimed at developing the human capital of the population
Intergenerational transmission NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME PICTURE FOR PENALTY AND PREMIUMS Parents Offspring Capital Economic Cultural Social NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME PICTURE FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
The Social Investment Circus Insurance to promote risk taking Skill formation Safety net to ameliorate poverty
The intergenerational contract T Children and youth Working aged Old age people T +1 T +2
Example childhood policies directed at children, families and companies • Children • Childcare: availability, affordability, quality • Childcare: general and targeted (disadvantaged, solo parents, mainly women) • Families • Cash • Councelling • Time • Companies • Reconcile work and family life • Combat gender discriminatory practices
Child Care Models Employment gap of mothers: DK 1.9 %-point, UK – 16.4, DE -18.4 Affordable Availability Quality UK: 10% not available, 4% insufficient quality, 73% too expensive DE: 25% not available, 31% too expensive
Young people not in employmentAND not in educationOR training NEET Rates, 15-24 years Source: Eurostat (2013)
Euro Men Women Age
Example: Combatting gender stereotypes in early years • Increase men’s time with children • More children in childcare • More men in female dominated jobs • Curricula and awareness in childcare
There are additional important dimensions: • Skills • Ethnicity • Spatial stuff • advantage and disadvantages tends to compound, i.e. intersectionality matters (e.g. gender, age, skills, and etnicity)
Concluding remarks • Social investments can improve wellbeing and equality • Men: more and better participation in the family + men in female dominated jobs • Women: better use of human capital in the market -> less discrimination + credits for care and birth • Both: fighting gender stereotypes + more, cheaper and better childcare • Theoretically frame: dynamic, multi-dimensional outcomes, configurational policy packages, intersectional target groups • End result: less gender inequalities, more wellbeing