The potential power of social policy programmes: income redistribution,economic resources and health

Lundberg O, Fritzell J, Åberg Yngwe M, Kölegård ML. The potential power of social policy programmes: income redistribution, economic resources and health Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This Supplement includes a number of articles dealing with the role of social policy schemes for public health across the life course. As a key social determinant of health, poverty and its consequences have historically been at the forefront of the public health discussion. But also in rich countries today, economic resources are likely to be important for health and survival, both on an individual and an aggregate level. This introductory article serves as a background for the more specific analyses that follow. The focus is on why income and income inequality could have an effect on individual and population health. We discuss relationships between the individual and population levels and between income and health, and some of the possible mechanisms involved. We also present arguments for why welfare state institutions may matter.     

Does family still matter? Public and private transfers in emerging welfare state systems in a comparative perspective

Kim JW, Choi YJ. Does family still matter? Public and private transfers in emerging welfare state systems in a comparative perspective Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 353–366 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. While the role of the family has been a distinctive feature of East Asian welfare systems, rapid social policy development and reforms in South Korea and Taiwan over the last two decades have led to an increase in public welfare. Yet, despite a growing number of studies, little is known about the role of family support – private transfers – and public programmes in the performance of state welfare. This article reports on a comparative analysis of the role of public and private transfers aimed at poverty and inequality reduction in 12 Western and two East Asian states employing the Luxemburg Income Study data set. Results indicate that, in contrast to the West, private transfers that rest primarily on family support remain more important than public transfers in reducing income inequality and poverty in South Korea and Taiwan.     

Societal shifts and changed patterns of poverty

Fritzell J, Ritakallio VM. Societal shifts and changed patterns of poverty Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This article uses data from the Luxembourg Income Study to analyse cross‐national and cross‐temporal poverty risks in 11 Western countries. We show that poverty risks have tended to increase from the early 1980s to 2000. In line with what we would expect based on the welfare state literature, the Nordic countries tend to have the lowest poverty rates. However, the proportion of the national population with a market income below the poverty threshold has increased in all countries and the cross‐national variation in market income poverty is not apparently related to the type of welfare state regime. We perform a simulation analysis to test whether structural factors, that is, compositional differences in age, family and labour market behaviour, could account for the cross‐national variation found. Our results demonstrate the increasing importance of household labour market attachment for alleviating poverty risks, as well as for explaining the cross‐national variation in these risks.     

Social policy and health: transition countries in a comparative perspective

T. Ferrarini, O. Sjöberg. Social policy and health: transition countries in a comparative perspective Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This article analyses the development and design of unemployment insurance and family policy benefits and their links to health outcomes in Estonia, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary from the mid‐1990s. Comparing these six transition countries with long‐standing welfare democracies reveals important similarities and differences in policy and health. Unemployment benefit schemes resemble corporatist schemes in important respects, however, with lower coverage and average benefits. Subjective wellbeing is also comparatively low among both employed and unemployed in the transition countries. Several transition countries have mixed family policy strategies that simultaneously support dual‐earner families and traditional gender roles. One clear exception is Slovenia, which has a highly developed dual‐earner support. Family policy generosity is related to lower rates of poverty, infant mortality and child injuries. The article demonstrates the fruitfulness of institutional analyses of the link between social policy and population health in a broader welfare state context.     

Family policy,economic development and infant mortality: a longitudinal comparative analysis

Ferrarini T, Norström T. Family policy, economic development and infant mortality: a longitudinal comparative analysis Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. In the present study, the impact of family policy legislation and economic development on infant mortality was estimated. Time series analyses indicate that economic growth decreased infant mortality in the earlier part of the 20th century, while the postwar period showed a zero or even a reversed correlation between economic development and child health. The results from fixed effects modelling of data for 18 welfare democracies for the period 1970–2000 are in line with the hypothesis that the more generous the earnings‐related parental leave benefits, the lower the infant mortality.     

Do public pensions matter for health and wellbeing among retired persons? Basic and income security pensions across 13 Western European countries

Esser I, Palme J. Do public pensions matter for health and wellbeing among retired persons? Basic and income security pensions across 13 Western European countries Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. Mortality rates suggest that elderly people in the advanced welfare democracies have experienced dramatically improved health over the past decades. This study examined the importance of public pensions for self‐reported health and wellbeing among retired persons in 13 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in 2002–2005. New public pension data make it possible to distinguish between two qualities of pension systems: ‘basic security’ for those who have no or a short work history, and ‘income security’ for those with a more extensive contribution record. For enhanced cross‐national comparison, relative measures of ill‐health and wellbeing were constructed to account for cultural bias in responses to survey questions and heterogeneity among countries in the general level of population health. Overall, better health is found in countries with more generous pensions, although the results are gendered; for women's health, high basic security of the pension system appears to be particularly important. Women's wellbeing also tends to be more dependent on the quality of basic security.     

The forgotten half: analysing the politics of welfare services

Jensen C. The forgotten half: analysing the politics of welfare services Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 404–412 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article discusses the welfare state and argues that the service component has been neglected in the mainstream literature. A main reason for the neglect is the lack of theorising on the distinction between the politics of welfare services and the politics of transfers. An analytical framework that may help overcome this problem is presented.     

One hundred years of money,welfare and death: mortality,economic growth and the development of the welfare state in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000

Kangas O. One hundred years of money, welfare and death: mortality, economic growth and the development of the welfare state in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000 Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The article focuses on the role played by the welfare state vis‐à‐vis GDP in the increase of life expectancy in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000. The article shows that money matters, war kills and the welfare state is good for health. There is a curvilinear relationship between prosperity and longevity: after a certain level, the marginal utility of an extra dollar levels off. In the longer run, growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition. The welfare state plays its role, too. Bigger is better, be it with regard to social spending or the generosity or coverage of social protection. For the life expectancy of a population to increase, it is better to have broader coverage or universal access to care than to have more generous benefits, which are channelled to a limited circle of citizens. It is better to give adequately to all than lavishly to too few.     

Improving the lives of Ghanaian children: complementing the global agenda with a structural social work approach

Manful SE, Manful E. Improving the lives of Ghanaian children: complementing the global agenda with a structural social work approach Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 115–123 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. In principle, Ghana's commitment to the global agenda for improving the welfare of children cannot be disputed. Globalisation has advanced changes in the country's institutional landscape with the introduction of economic reforms and administrative institutional frameworks to improve the welfare of children, amongst others. This article discusses the impacts of two global agendas, the Structural Adjustment Program and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It argues that the economic reforms and the legal framework to ensure the welfare of children have not achieved their envisaged goals, because the global initiatives focused on institutional changes, neglecting social factors that cause inequalities. Consequently, these factors have contributed to the inability of adequate service provision for children. To alleviate the problem, this article suggests that a structural social work approach be adopted in Ghana as a complementary strategy to improve the welfare of children.     

Public pension institutions and old‐age mortality in a comparative perspective

Norström T, Palme J. Public pension institutions and old‐age mortality in a comparative perspective Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The aim of the study was to estimate the impact of changes in pension rights on old‐age mortality. We made a distinction between two dimensions of pension benefits, one of providing basic security (BASIC), and the other of providing income security (INCOME). Analyses were based on data for 18 OECD countries during the post‐war period. The outcome comprised old‐age excess mortality, defined as the ratio of the mortality rate 65+ to the mortality rate in the age group 30–59 years. The latter was regarded as a proxy for unobserved factors potentially related to old‐age mortality as well as pension rights. The pooled cross‐sectional time series data were analysed through fixed effects modelling. The results suggest that BASIC (but not INCOME) has a beneficial impact on old‐age excess mortality, which was statistically significant. We interpret the results in terms of the poverty‐reducing effects of pension entitlements with a basic security orientation.     

The impact of the use of the social welfare services or social security benefits on attitudes to social welfare policies

Muuri A. The impact of the use of the social welfare services or social security benefits on attitudes to social welfare policies
Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 182–193 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article investigates the attitudes of citizens and clients to social welfare services and social security benefits. The data come from a Finnish national survey conducted at the end of 2006. First, the article overviews the previous welfare‐state studies relating especially to the theoretical perspectives of self‐interest and legitimacy. The empirical analysis indicates (i) that a different operation of self‐interest can only weakly explain the differences in attitudes between services and benefits; (ii) that there is general support for Finnish social welfare services and social security benefits, which, however, is mixed with growing criticism among women and pensioners who are supposed to benefit most from the welfare policies; and (iii) that such determinants of attitude as gender, use and, to some extent, lifecycle have become as important as class‐related factors such as income and education.     

Childcare: welfare or investment?

Conley A. Childcare: welfare or investment? Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 173–181 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Childcare (also called day care or preschool) has generally served three purposes: to care for children while parents are employed; to provide early childhood education; and to cater to the needs of poor and disadvantaged children. This article proposes that the welfare approach to childcare be augmented by a social investment approach to enhance human and social capital investments among low income families and communities and to contribute to wider social development goals. The Head Start program in the United States and the Integrated Child Development Scheme in India are used to illustrate this argument.     

Social development and the status quo: professionalisation and Third Way co‐optation

Gray M. Social development and the status quo: professionalisation and Third Way co‐optation Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 463–470 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. Social development is a massive undertaking that has spawned a multitude of organisational forms. It nevertheless remains an ambiguous term and ill‐defined area of work, though some social development practitioners have succeeded in making small‐scale local differences in particular situations. While largely a tool of the status quo, some believe that social development has transformative potential and provides valuable space to confront inequalities and deprivation. In this article, I argue that in contemporary neoliberal environments social development is being co‐opted by Third Way politics and professionalisation processes. As it professionalises through the creation of professional structures and educational systems, it is becoming increasingly like social work, despite arguments that it is as an alternative approach to poverty and social exclusion. In the process, it is losing its transformative, critical edge, and morphing into a neoliberal, social investment approach that absolves government of its responsibility for the welfare of citizens.     

Discerning self‐interested behaviour in attitudes towards welfare state responsibilities across Europe

Baslevent C, Kirmanoglu H. Discerning self‐interested behaviour in attitudes towards welfare state responsibilities across Europe Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 344–352 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article reports on an investigation into the influence of individual characteristics on attitudes to government responsibility for welfare‐related tasks using data from the European Social Survey. The main finding of this investigation was that socio‐demographic characteristics, basic personal values, a left–right ideological position and religious affiliation were all associated with attitudes towards welfare policies. An item‐by‐item examination of the six issues enquired about in the survey revealed that people tended to hold the government responsible for tasks that would benefit them more directly. Taken as a whole, the empirical findings were interpreted to mean that individuals' tastes for welfare state policies were driven, at least partially, by self‐interest, but it was also noted that further work was needed to disentangle the potential role of group loyalty effects.     

Neighborhood: the “outside” space for girls in urban India

Singh S. Neighborhood: the “outside” space for girls in urban India
Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 206–214 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This study explores the perspective of adolescent girls on the neighborhood as a social space that plays a role in the formation of their identity and agency. The study applies the ‘identities’ conceptual framework, which is a global, interdisciplinary, theoretical approach to understanding female identity. The study participants were girls enrolled in grades 7–10, from five schools in a district in the Northern State of India, who participated in structured focus group discussions. The study reports on the reduced relevance of neighborhood for girls and illustrates, through quotes, the reasons for their limited interaction.     

Multidimensional Inequality in South Korea: An Empirical Analysis

The objective of this study is to review the theoretical limitations of single dimensional approaches for measuring inequality and to prove the effectiveness and practicality of the concept of “multidimensional inequality” by analyzing the inequality embedded in Korean society. This study constitutes nine dimensions of inequality (income, education, health, employment, social capital, leisure, work‐family reconciliation, housing, and social security) and analyzes inequality through the lens of each dimension by using data from of the first to fifth wave of the Korea Welfare Panel Study. The findings show a high degree of correlation among the dimensions of income, education, health, and social capital. However, work‐family reconciliation and housing have a relatively low correlation with income and the other dimensions. Second, multidimensional disparities were found between the groups of gender, age, and region. In conclusion, this study found a high degree of overlap between the concepts of income‐oriented inequalities and the multidimensional inequality approach. By capturing the notions of the multidimensional disparities that exist in each of the different groups, this study confirmed the effectiveness of multidimensional inequality as a useful concept for informing the creation of social policy intervention to alleviate inequality.     

Negotiating dilemmas in the practices of street‐level welfare work

Hjörne E, Juhila K, van Nijnatten C. Negotiating dilemmas in the practices of street‐level welfare work Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 303–309 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The theme of this mini‐symposium is based on the core ideas of two influential books published about 30 years ago, namely Michael Lipsky's Street‐Level Bureaucracy – Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services (1980) and Jeffrey Prottas's People‐Processing – The Street‐Level Bureaucrat in Public Service Bureaucracies (1979). In these books, three dilemmas were identified that have great importance for welfare workers' position as mediators between institutions and citizens: autonomy versus control, responsiveness versus standardisation, and demand versus supply. In this editorial, we discuss these dilemmas with regard to the present context of street‐level welfare work, which is strongly influenced by managerialist policies (also called new public management). It is emphasised that in the era of managerialism, the dilemmas should be approached as empirical matters: how they are present, talked into being and negotiated in naturally occurring practices of street‐level welfare work, and with what consequences.     

Multidisciplinary consultation in child protection: a clinical data‐mining evaluation

Lalayants M, Epstein I, Adamy D. Multidisciplinary consultation in child protection: a clinical data‐mining evaluation Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 156–166 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article presents the results of an evaluation of a multidisciplinary consultation program in child protection by applying a clinical data‐mining approach. Using available agency records, data concerning mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence consultations were extracted retrospectively for evaluative purposes. The results demonstrated that by examining existing records, child‐protection practitioners were able to evaluate the existing practices as well as recognize areas for program improvement. Additionally, differential patterns emerged in consultation types. Lastly, a discussion of the strengths and limitations as well as implications of clinical data‐mining studies is presented.     

The interaction effects of scheduling control and work–life balance programs on job satisfaction and mental health

Jang SJ, Park R, Zippay A. The interaction effects of scheduling control and work–life balance programs on job satisfaction and mental health Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 135–143 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The demands of balancing employment and family responsibilities strain the health and welfare of many employees worldwide, and social welfare policy analysts are increasingly attending to the factors that can alleviate such stress. The present study examined associations between the availability of work–life balance programs, employees' authority to arrange their own work hours, job satisfaction, and mental health among 1,293 employees in 50 companies in South Korea. The study is unique in its use of multilevel analysis in examining individual‐ and company‐level variables. The results add to the evidence regarding the positive relationship between the availability of scheduling control and work–life balance policies on the one hand, and job satisfaction and mental wellbeing, on the other.     

Giving money to strangers: European welfare states and social trust

Jensen C, Svendsen GT. Giving money to strangers: European welfare states and social trust Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 3–9 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Why would you give money to strangers? That is the fundamental question posed by a new body of research into the relationship between social trust and willingness to accept high taxes and extensive welfare states. The literature argues that generalised trust causes and upholds universal welfare state institutions, an entirely plausible explanation of the Scandinavian social democratic welfare states. However, it cannot explain the presence of very large welfare states in Continental Europe, where the level of generalised trust is much lower than in Scandinavia. The article adds to the existing literature by arguing that the ‘bumblebee’ of conservative welfare states is characterised by particularistic trust and familiaristic welfare institutions, which are functional equivalents to the mechanisms found in Scandinavia. Future research into the trust–welfare state relationship should therefore focus on the trust profile of a country to understand how the welfare state provides its citizens with benefits.