Social Risks - lecture 1
Welfare state was seen as a broken safety net. Now it is more seen as a ‘trampoline’ where people
go right back into the labour market.
Welfare state is one of the most powerful institutions of the 20th century and beyond.
Differences in welfare states:
- Historical trajectories
- Financing, eligibility, coverage
- Benefit levels
Common steps in Europe: slides
Periods:
Golden Age: 1945-1975; expansion of programmes, social protection for male (breadwinner model).
In this period there was economic growth, high employment, low unemployment. Then in the 70s
the oil crisis began. Unemployment went up, and stagflation(stagnation, inflation) So rising prices
and economic growth declining.
Underlying cause of these events were two processes:
- From industrial to post-industrial society
- Individual responsibility instead of governmental
Retrenchment: 1975-?:
Governments had to adapt their policy to less costly alternatives. Retrenchment: lowering
expenditures.
Also redistribution of state responsibility: more individual and lower level of government.
Welfare state: today
2000s onwards: clash between retrenchment but also a notion that we think that the welfare state is
needed and we like it.
Continued adjustment of old social risks, and pressure of new ones. So old social risks are adjusted
for (e.g. unemployment today, pension, disability: it changes from time to time how much they get,
who is eligible etc.) but also new social risks suddenly come to life that we did not account for (child
care, parental leave, life long learning etc). So on one hand the need to invest, and on the other hand
to cut costs.
Shift to selective policies: eligibility is declining for a lot of social securities.
Changed socio-cultural changes: migration etc. But also economic circumstances (globalization)
Global recession: this was more challenging for southern European welfare states because they
already had high unemployment.
Link between welfare state and social risks:
Function welfare state: provide collective protection for individual risks.
What are social risks?: risk is attributable to social action. Social risks are risks that do not only result
from individual choice, but are (also) produced by the social system of production. Life-events that
Welfare state was seen as a broken safety net. Now it is more seen as a ‘trampoline’ where people
go right back into the labour market.
Welfare state is one of the most powerful institutions of the 20th century and beyond.
Differences in welfare states:
- Historical trajectories
- Financing, eligibility, coverage
- Benefit levels
Common steps in Europe: slides
Periods:
Golden Age: 1945-1975; expansion of programmes, social protection for male (breadwinner model).
In this period there was economic growth, high employment, low unemployment. Then in the 70s
the oil crisis began. Unemployment went up, and stagflation(stagnation, inflation) So rising prices
and economic growth declining.
Underlying cause of these events were two processes:
- From industrial to post-industrial society
- Individual responsibility instead of governmental
Retrenchment: 1975-?:
Governments had to adapt their policy to less costly alternatives. Retrenchment: lowering
expenditures.
Also redistribution of state responsibility: more individual and lower level of government.
Welfare state: today
2000s onwards: clash between retrenchment but also a notion that we think that the welfare state is
needed and we like it.
Continued adjustment of old social risks, and pressure of new ones. So old social risks are adjusted
for (e.g. unemployment today, pension, disability: it changes from time to time how much they get,
who is eligible etc.) but also new social risks suddenly come to life that we did not account for (child
care, parental leave, life long learning etc). So on one hand the need to invest, and on the other hand
to cut costs.
Shift to selective policies: eligibility is declining for a lot of social securities.
Changed socio-cultural changes: migration etc. But also economic circumstances (globalization)
Global recession: this was more challenging for southern European welfare states because they
already had high unemployment.
Link between welfare state and social risks:
Function welfare state: provide collective protection for individual risks.
What are social risks?: risk is attributable to social action. Social risks are risks that do not only result
from individual choice, but are (also) produced by the social system of production. Life-events that
