21 TWO Changing social risks, changing risk protection? with Romke van der Veen A perusal of relevant welfare state and industrial relations literature would lead one to believe that a transformation of the welfare state, in its response to changing social risks, is highly unlikely. The stickiness of existing institutions, the varied interests of so many actors – any number of mechanisms can combine to make it difficult to respond to changing social risks. This chapter looks at what these mechanisms are and what the expectations for the response of the
431 Key words: new social risks • welfare state modernisation • post-industrial social policies Final submission 14 July 04 • Acceptance 27 July 04 The politics of the new social policies: providing coverage against new social risks in mature welfare states Giuliano Bonoli English Current socioeconomic transformations that have brought into existence post- industrial labour market and family structures are generating new social needs and demands, labelled new social risks (NSRs). These include reconciling work and family life, lone parenthood, long
21 ONE ‘Everything needs to change, so everything can stay the same’: the Italian welfare state facing new social risks Costanzo Ranci and Mauro Migliavacca Introduction Italian society is very different from what it was 20 years ago. The social risks that the Italian population faced at the beginning of the 1990s have substantially changed, though some long-standing problems – such as poverty and unemployment, which are widespread in the South – still persist today. Although the main indicators of inequality exhibited a stable trend until the explosion
This comprehensive study provides a thorough account of important policy developments in the Netherlands that are significant beyond the borders of the Dutch welfare state. It demonstrates the dramatic changes that have taken place in the protection of old and new social risks, exploring the mechanisms behind these changes in the context of corporatist welfare state institutions. This book is essential for welfare state scholars, graduate students and policy makers.
185 12 Layering, social risks and manufactured uncertainties in social work in Poland1 Paweł Poławski Introduction In recent decades, active labour market reforms within the European Union have reshaped the landscape of the welfare state. The transformation has involved policy and governance reorientation. The retrenchment is understood as both cost cuts and recalibration of social support aimed at improving its economic efficiency (Pierson, 2001), limiting universal social entitlements (Taylor-Gooby, 2009), placing pressure on work-based remuneration and
rates in the UK sat well over 10% between 1992 and 2015 ( Holmes et al, 2021 ). Youth in post-industrial societies face a series of ‘new social risks’ – particularly young parents – attempting to accommodate family care roles and low-wage, insecure employment. Whereas Nordic welfare state policies help vulnerable groups actively combat risks, weaker liberal policies such as those found in the UK or US largely eschew state protections; self-reliance is emphasised to those most affected by new social risks ( Bonoli, 2007 : 497). A social risk in the British welfare
Recent social trends and policy developments have called into question the divide between the provision of income support and social care services. This book examines this in light of key trends. The book presents new evidence on the links between cash - whether from earnings from paid work, social security benefits, and payments for disabled people and carers - and social disadvantage, care and disability. It presents theoretical perspectives on the need for and provision of care, which some commentators have described as a ‘new social risk’ and offers new insights into traditional forms of risk, such as poverty, disability, access to credit and money management. It provides an analysis of childcare and informal support for sick, disabled or elderly people in the context of increasing female labour market participation and the introduction of cash allowances to pay for care and posits a new look at both disabled people and older people in their roles as active citizens, whose views and experiences should help shape both policy and practice. “Cash and care" is essential reading for students, lecturers and researchers in social policy, applied social science, social work, and health and social care.
There is a need to understand the Italian welfare state, but as yet it has received little academic research attention. The Italian Welfare State in a European Perspective is the first book to explore the evolution of Italy’s welfare state in the decades since the ‘Trente Glorieuses’ (1945–75).
It offers a rare overview and analysis of the Italian situation based on an in-depth study of the main social policy fields (including education, higher education and taxation policies), a detailed analysis of the connection between policies and their outputs/outcomes and a comparative perspective framing the Italian case within the European context.
This is the first English-language book to take a comparative look at the Italian welfare state as a whole since the 2008 economic crisis, It will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers, as well as students.
Poverty is not a neutral phenomenon, nor are social inclusion programmes neutrally conceived, designed and implemented.Their ultimate nature is built upon ideas, values, actors, politics and economic constraints.This topical book is one of the first to examine the social and political construction of anti-poverty programmes in Central Eastern Europe and their transformation from communist rule to the current economic crisis. It covers the approach towards the ‘parasite’ poor through to Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes and illustrates how the distinction between different categories of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor has evolved over the years as the result of changing paradigms, combined with the pressure exerted by domestic and international actors, the European Union and the World Bank among others. This text breaks new ground for social policy students and scholars interested in understanding how differently post-communist welfare states have represented, legitimised and dealt with poverty, need and social justice in accordance with divergent normative frameworks constructed at national level.
This book examines policies on unpaid care throughout the UK since the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. It questions why, after decades of policies and strategies, unpaid care remains in a marginal position in the social care system and in society more broadly, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It provides critical analysis of key policies and professional practice over three decades and highlights the continuing challenges faced by people in caring relationships, as well as reflecting on developments in the position of unpaid carers in the system of social care.
By questioning why this crucially important sphere of human life remains under-resourced, it sheds light on the ways in which care is understood and how policy makers and service providers perceive the need for support.
