The Welfare State

1. TheWelfareState

2. Inmostindustrializedcountries, povertyand social exclusion at the bottom are alleviated by the welfare state. • Whydidwelfarestatesdevelop in manyindustrializedcountries? • How can weexplainthevariations in thewelfaremodelsfavoredbydifferentstates? • Eveniftheface of welfare is different in acrosscountries, industrialsocietieshavedevoted a largeshare of theirresourcestoaddressingpublicneeds.

3. Most industrialized and industrializing countries todayarewelfarestates. • Thestateplays a central role in theprovision of welfare, through a systemthatoffersservicesandbenefitstomeetpeople’sbasicneedssuch as: • Healthcare • Education • Housing • Income

4. Welfare state is also involved in managing risks faced by people over the course of their lives such as: • Sickness • Disability • Job loss • Old age

5. Theservicesprovidedbyeachwelfarestateandthelevels of spending on it varyfromcountrytocountry. • Inhighlydevelopedwelfaresystems a largeproportion of thenationalbudget is devotedtowelfare. • Share of taxrevenues in GDP • Sweden 51.1% • Belgium 45.4% • Austria 49.7% • UK 37.2% • Germany 34.7% • USA 26.8%

6. Approachestowelfare • Marxistshaveseenwelfarestate as necessaryforsustaining a capitalistsystem. • Functionalisttheoristsarguethatwelfaresystemshelptointegratesociety in an orderlywayundertheconditions of advancedindustrialization. • T.H. Marshall (1893-1981) • GøstaEsping-Andersen (1947- )

7. The Welfare State What is citizenship? Howdidthe idea emergeanddevelop? Howis citizenshiprelatedtothestate’sprovision of welfare? Whatrightsandresponsibilitiesdoes “citizenship” confer on citizens? T.H. Marshallsawcitizenship as emerging alongsideindustrialization as a fundamentalfeature of modern society. An historicalapproachtotheevolution of citizenship in Britain.

8. MARSHALL’S THREE STAGES OF CITIZENSHIP (BASED ON THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE) • 18th century -> Civilrights • Personallibertiessuch as freedom of speech, thoughtandreligion, • righttoownproperty, • righttofair legal treatment. • 19th century -> Politicalrights • righttovote, • righttoholdoffice, • righttoparticipate in politicalprocess.

9. 20th century -> Socialrights • Righttoeconomicandsocialsecuritythrougheducation, healthcare, housing, pensions, otherservices. Allenshrined in the “welfarestate”. Thisnewnotion of citizenshipincorporatingsocialrightsmeansthateveryone is entitledtolive a fullandactive life and has a rightto a resonableincome, regardless of theirposition in society.

10. Therightsassociatedwithsocialcitizenshipadvancedthe ideal of equalityforall. • Marshall’saccount, seeing a growingrange of rightsforallcitizens is oftendescribed as an optimisticone.

11. CRITICAL POINTS • Based on a singlecase – Britain. • Thisevolutionaryapproachcannot be appliedtoothernationalcasessuch as Sweden, FranceorGermany. • Thisevolutionaryexplanation is not clear in itself. Just a description of howcitizenshipdeveloped in Britainratherthan a causalexplanation of why it didso. • Criticsarguethat Marshall tendstoassumetheprogressivedevelopment of types of rights, but failstoexplainthelinksbetweentherightsandhowonetype of rightsledinevitablytoanother.

12. RecentcriticsalsoarguethatglobalizationmakesMarshall’stheoryoutdates, since it is based on theinfluence of thenation-stateandassumesthatcitizenshipdevelopsfrominternaldynamics of nationalsocieties. (interactionsandinfluencesbetweenandacrossworldsocieties!) Marshall’sevolutionism is challengedbythecrisis of welfarismfromthe 1970s andtheattemptto “rollback” welfareprovision in manydevelopedsocieties.

13. Contemporary Significance • Marshall’sviewsinfluenceddebatesaboutthenature of citizenshipandinformedpoliticalandacademicinterest in socialexclusionandinclusion. • Marshall’s central idea that rights are intertwined with the notion of citizenship gained popularity in the discussions of “active citizenship”. • Eveniftoostate-centred, thenotion of an evolvingexpansion of citizenshiprightsandresponsibilitiesinformourunderstanding of “citizenship”. • Environmental/ecologicalcitizenship

14. Three Worlds of Welfare Esping-Andersen’s ‘TheThreeWorldsof WelfareCapitalism’ (1990)brings a comparative perspective to theories of welfare. Based on the idea that different countries followed different paths toward citizenship rights and created different “welfare regimes”. (Remembercriticismsdirected at Marshall!) Comparison of western welfaresystems. Three-part typology of welfare regimes: • Social democratic (Scandinavia) • Conservative-corporatist (France, Germany) • Liberal (US, UK)

15. The typology is determined by the level of welfare decommodification – the degree to which welfare services are free from the market. High decommodification: Welfare is provided publicly and not linked to one’s income or economic resources. Commodified system: Welfare services are treated like commodities (sold on the market). Comparing policies on Pensions Unemployment Income support

16. Social Democratic Welfare Regimes Highly decommodified Welfare services subsidized by the state Welfare services are available to all citizens (universal benefits) Scandinavian countries, ie. Sweden and Norway Universal benefits: All citizens’ basic welfare needs are met on an ongoing basis regardless of their income or savings.

17. Conservative-Corporatist Welfare Regimes Welfare services are decommodified but they are not universal. Amount of benefits to which a citizen is entitled depends on their position in society. Not aimed at eliminating inequalities, but at maintaining social stability, strongfamiliesand loyalty to the state. France and Germany

18. Liberal Welfare Regimes Welfare is highly commodified and sold through the market Means-tested benefits are available to the very needy (but receiving welfare is stigmatized) Majority of thepopulation is expectedtopurchaseitsownwelfarethroughthe market The United States

19. The UK is an interestingcase since it does not fallcleanlytoanyone of the ideal types. • Formerly it wascloserto a socialdemocraticmodel but welfarereforms since the 1970s brought it closerto a liberal welfareregimewithhigherlevels of commodification. • HowaboutTurkey?

20. Themaindifferencebetweenwelfareregimes is theavailability of benefitstothepopulation. • Welfare is a rightto be enjoyedequallybyall, regardless of economicstatus, in systemsthatprovideuniversalbenefits. • Childbenefit • Designedtoensurethatallcitizens’ basicwelfareneedsare met on an ongoingbasis.

21. Means-testing: An administrative process by which the state assesses the resources (income) of a welfare applicant against a standardized rate and, ifthere is a shortfall,makes up the difference as a social security benefit or provides the service. Examples in UK: Benefits: Income support, housing benefit Services: Local authority social service departments (care for older people)

22. Residualist vs. Institutional View of Welfare Institutional view argues that access to welfare services should be provided as a right for everyone. Residualist view argues that welfare should be available to members of society who truly need help and unable to meet their own welfare needs. Thedebatebetweeninstitutionalistandresidualistviews can be seen as a disputeabouttaxation.

23. Taxation – source for funding the welfare state. High or low tax levels ? Residualistview “safety-net welfarestate” onlythemost in need (giventhatneed is proven) shouldreceivewelfarebenefits. Seethewelfarestate as expensive, ineffectiveandtoobureaucratic. Institutionalistview taxlevelsshould be hightofundwelfarestateneeds. Welfaremust be maintainedandexpanded in orderto limitthe harshpolarizing effects of the market. Providingforandprotectingitscitizens is theresponsibility of anycivilizedstate

24. Povertyandwelfare in a changingworld • Changes in theoccupationalstructureandthe global economyhavecontributedto trend towards in inequality. • Decline in mnaualworkforce had an importanteffectboth on patterns of incomedistributionandunemployment. • Unskilledor semi-skilledworkersfind it increasinglydifficulttoenter/re-enter a rapidlychanginglabor market whereeducationalqualificatrionsandtechnologicalcompetenceare in increasingdemand. • Theexpansion of opportunities in the service sector is forlow-paid, low-quality, no-improvementjobs.

25. Inthe 21st century, welfaredebatesare not limitedtomaterialprosperity, but abouttheoverallwell-being of thepopulation. (Remember, who is in, who is out!) • Socialpolicy is concernedwithpromotingsocialcohesion, fosteringnetworks of interdependence, andmaximizingpeople’sabilitiestohelpthemselves. • Rightsandresponsibilitiesforthose at thebottom(attemptingtoimprovetheirlives) as well as forthose at the top (evadingcivic, socialandtaxobligations). What do wemeanbythis?

26. UK experience: • Slow evolution up until WW2 • Beveridge report 1942: eradicate five evils: • Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, Idleness • Late 1970s, consensus about welfare breaks down, attempt to ‘roll back state’ • On balance this is believed to have failed, due to entrenched constituencies mobilized in support of the status quo

27. Recent Developments • New Labour have continued to pursue welfare reform: • Major role for employment (welfare to work) and targeted initiatives • Minimum wage introduced • Tax credits aimed at halving child poverty • Future suggests left-right agendas not entirely adequate • Many risks no longer within scope of traditional welfare state