Social policy and poverty in post-totalitarian Europe

This article attempts to compare the social policy models of the west with social policies in post-totalitarian central and eastern Europe. It is argued that historical roots as well as recent developments make post-Communist social policy similar to the two major models in the west: the institutional redistributive model and the industrial achievement or performance model. The present problems of mass unemployment and growing poverty cannot be solved without a major reform of social policy, including state intervention and control. The residual social safety net and a strong market orientation are unlikely to be able to reduce poverty and unemployment. However, it is also argued that the strong role of the state and organized labour in both of these European welfare systems creates an obstacle to the future of social policy in the countries of central and eastern Europe. The state is viewed with great scepticism and organized mass social movements are weak in most of these countries. It will take time to develop such agents that can support the development of state social policy, and it may not even be accepted that the route of interventionist state welfare characteristic of western Europe is desirable.     

Social policy and forms of family life in Europe

This paper presents unpublished data from an international comparative research project. A ten-country study analysed change and diversity informs of private life during the 1980s in comparable age groups of women (women of young parental age and women at the start of the postparental phase). Changes in forms of private life and their international diversity make up the sociological background for demographic change. The scientific and political assumptions view demographic diversity in Europe as an expression of the simultaneity of the non-simultaneous, of a unidimensional trend in changes informs of private life as a result of the dissolution of the traditional family and the subsequent increase in such forms. We show that although Europeans have to deal with similar trends, they are framed by various national and cultural traditions and different social policy guiding principles and actions. Social policy profiles define various "normality weightings" for (prospective) parents'options. Of particular significance is how States differ in reconciling the demands of family and work. Differences in compatibility between family and professional life are exemplified by what Kaufmann (1990) calls the "structural lack of consideration" that politics and society have for the family.     

Recent public policy and Australian older workers

This article considers the characteristics and utility of pro‐work policies targeting Australian older workers that have emerged in the context of population ageing, amid concerns that this will lead to labour shortages and an increasing social welfare burden. There has been a recent surge in public policy regarding the ageing workforce, the efficacy of which has not been tested by evaluation studies. After considering the conceptual foundations and objectives of various government initiatives, it is argued that the present public policy approach may have serious flaws that are not only detrimental to the stated overall objective of prolonging working lives, but may, in fact, be harmful to older workers and fail to address the needs of business. This stems from programs reaching only a small proportion of those older people who would potentially benefit from assistance, and from misdirected effort aimed at encouraging behavioural change on the part of employers or industries. It is argued that there is a need for greater targeting of policy efforts on the actual needs of industry and for public policy itself to become more age‐aware.     

Social workers, parents and stigma

This paper draws on an empirical study of stigma and child welfare services in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain. It focuses exclusively on the findings relating to the United Kingdom and shows how stigma continues to be a part of the experience of using and delivering child welfare services, despite the positive determination of policies that this should not be so. More optimistically, however, it is also evident that the experience of stigma and exclusion can be reduced, and the paper concludes by outlining the implications for policy and practice together with those factors which would appear to be most significant in combating stigma.     

Social Policy in a Federal Europe

The European Union has a federal structure, in which each citizen is subject to two governments. The position of social policy within the federation is contested, but the EU has gradually developed powers through the extension of its competence, direct intervention in social welfare issues and the push for “convergence”, or agreement on minimum standards. Consistent with its federal nature, the European model of the welfare state is based on convergence, integration of the excluded and social protection through the gradual extension of solidarity. The precise role that the federal government will take on within this is unclear, but it is already having a major impact on social welfare and its influence is likely to increase.     

Indications of Social Policy Convergence in Europe

This paper explores the extent to which, and the ways in which, it might be justified in talking of a movement towards convergence of social policy within Europe. It reviews definitions and typologies of the welfare state as a prelude to discussion of the different theoretical types and possibilities of social policy integration, which itself leads into consideration of supranational EU developments. The empirical data presented in respect of “social protection” expenditures (and taxation regimes) in general and of “active” and “passive” labour market expenditures in particular, lend support to the notion not merely that the welfare state is not yet over in Europe, but that forms of social policy convergence are in evidence already.     

Health and Social Policy Responses to Unemployment in Europe

This paper analyzes health policy development in Europe in response to economic instability, and describes agreements and declarations at a European level as well as commitments in some selected countries. One significant example is the European Health for All Strategy, which encompasses 38 operational targets agreed upon by all 32 member states of the European region. The Council of Europe and the Commission of the European Communities have instituted study groups on psychosocial and health effects of long-term unemployment, and on intervention measures taken or contemplated. This paper discusses interventions such as psychological and socio-pedagogic training schemes, measures for long-term unemployed, and a "social guarantee" of employment or training, as well as prevention of unemployment and empowerment of the unemployed. A local approach in a region of the Federal Republic of Germany illustrates the need for political involvement and strategies.     

Social exclusion in Europe: some conceptual issues

In the late 20th and early 21st century, social exclusion has become something of a trope around which is pegged justifications for various reforms. The notion of social exclusion has found its way into the lexicon of all major global governance institutions. How has this happened, and what are its implications for scholars of contemporary welfare reforms? In this article, we consider the ‘rise and rise’ of the discourse of social exclusion, with particular reference to its development as a policy paradigm within the European Union. We note that its initial iteration was anchored in a functionalist discourse of social organisation but that this was quickly challenged both by post‐structuralist and post‐colonial perspectives and by research findings that undermined the view of mainstream institutions as fundamentally integrative and inclusive in nature. The debate about social exclusion, we suggest, is simultaneously a debate about the historical and social dynamics of European modernity.     

Social and Material Deprivation among Unemployed Youth in Northern Europe

This article examines deprivation among unemployed young people. It draws on a comparative survey of 8,654 young unemployed in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. In spite of an increased knowledge of the relationship between unemployment and poverty,our understanding of deprivation among young unemployed people remains inadequate. How do young people deal with unemployment? Are transitional factors the only explanation for the prevalence of deprivation or should we also consider intergenerational factors? The six countries represent two different welfare strategies, the Nordic universalistic model and the Scottish liberal/ minimalist approaches. The research findings showed diverging tendencies within the Nordic countries. Converging trends between the different systems could also be found, as family support plays the main role in preventing deprivation in all of the countries.     

Working late: policy relevance for older workers in the United States

The United States has seen a sizable increase in older worker labour force participation, although how much of this is due to public policy is uncertain. In fact, outside of academic and policy research circles, there has been relatively little attention paid to older workers and the challenges of an aging workforce in that country. Public policymakers have not demonstrated the same interest in expanding employment opportunities for older workers that they have shown for other groups, or that has been seen in other countries. Still, a number of significant pieces of legislation have been enacted over the past several decades that should be making continued employment at later ages easier, more attractive, or more essential financially. This paper examines those policies. However, because of confounding and conflicting influences from elsewhere, public policy initiatives focusing on older worker employment do not appear to be major contributors to rising labour force participation rates at older ages.