Do stakeholders in Denmark know about social investment within long-term care?,

AbstractSocial investment has become a buzzword in recent years. The concept is not always precise or being used in the same way in all European countries. The central tenet of the social investment approach is to treat public expenditures not just as an economic burden, but also as an investment in the future. This is also a part of the development in the discourse. The social investment perspective is an example of how new ideas might influence social policy development. However, the use of the concept at the political level does not imply that it is also known by stakeholders. The article explains the dichotomy between the use of a concept on an overarching political and academic level with a practical understanding among actors without using the concept. The article concludes that social investment can be used in the field and that actors have an understanding hereof.</jats:p

Krise i den danske velfærdsstat?

Denne artikel bidrager med en oversigt over udviklingen i offentlige udgifter siden årtusindskiftet i den danske velfærdsstat. Fokus rettes mod, om og hvorvidt der har været nedskæringer i den danske velfærdsstat, herunder om der kan ses forskel på udviklingen i indkomstoverførsler og serviceydelser. Artiklen diskuterer, hvad der forstås ved nedskæringer. Selvom der på makroniveau tilsyneladende ikke kan iagttages forandringer eller endog er flere ressourcer til rådighed, kan der på enkelte områder være færre ressourcer til rådighed. Det drøftes også, om og hvorvidt argumenter om flere/færre penge til rådighed er en del af et spil om at tiltrække flere ressourcer. Sådanne politiske spil kan bidrage til uklarhed om, hvordan velfærdsstaten faktisk udvikler sig. Endelig rettes blikket mod, hvordan ønsket om at levere nye ydelser i velfærdsstaten – eksempelvis som følge af demografiske forandringer og ny teknologi – kan påvirke muligheden for at kunne finansiere eksisterende ydelser

A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work-Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom

This article analyses the interplay of public and occupational work‒family policies in institutionally different countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom). Most of the existing studies do not analyse public and occupational family policy in conjunction, although this is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of family policy, and therefore the article adds knowledge on work-family policy and the interplay of public and occupational based approaches. Based on a diverse case selection strategy and using comparative information from European statistics, surveys and reports, the crowding-out hypothesis is excluded, but no one consistent relationship is found for all countries. Instead, the article adds to existing knowledge that the country-specific public-private mix depends on the institutional context (e.g. public family policy) and industrial relations