Social Investment

International audienceThis chapter reviews the paradigm and spread of social investment policies, and discusses them as key elements of the “knowledge economy welfare state”. Social investments are policies that aim at creating, preserving, and mobilizing human skills and capabilities. The chapter discusses the emergence of social investment as a new social policy paradigm, presents different variants of the social investment approach, provides a mapping of social investment policies around the globe, discusses effects of social investment policies, and weighs in on important debates regarding the politics of social investment. The chapter closes with an outlook on avenues for future research

How We Grow More Unequal

This chapter introduces the concept of dualization. Poverty, inequality, and social exclusion are back on the political agenda in many rich democracies of Western Europe and North America, not only as a consequence of the Great Recession that hit the global economy in 2008. It argues that the translation of structural pressures into policies and outcomes has to be understood as a political process. Dualization is a political process that is characterized by the differential treatment of insiders and outsiders and that can take the form of newly created institutional dualisms or the deepening of existing institutional dualisms (policy output). Thereby, changes in the labor market are translated into the social policy realm, where new distinctions arise or old institutional distinctions are re-activated. Feedback effects and vicious circles are likely to strengthen this effect because weak labor attachment and social exclusion are associated with weaker political representation

How Democracies Transform Their Welfare States: The Reform Trajectories and Political Coalitions of Inclusive, Stratified, and Targeted Social Investment Strategies in Capitalist Democracies

International audienceSocial investment reform strategies vary across countries with regard to the politicization of policy proposals, the key functions of social investment reforms, and their distributive profiles. Since most of the key drivers of variation cluster by regional context, this chapter explores the context of social investment politics across countries in four world regions: western Europe and North America, central and eastern Europe, North East Asia, and Latin America. This context shapes the political actors and coalitions behind the development of social investment (or lack thereof), and consequently the variation in policy output. The chapter also discusses the rationale and added value of the cross- and within-region comparative strategy and provides an overview of the structure of the volume

How We Grow More Unequal

This chapter introduces the concept of dualization. Poverty, inequality, and social exclusion are back on the political agenda in many rich democracies of Western Europe and North America, not only as a consequence of the Great Recession that hit the global economy in 2008. It argues that the translation of structural pressures into policies and outcomes has to be understood as a political process. Dualization is a political process that is characterized by the differential treatment of insiders and outsiders and that can take the form of newly created institutional dualisms or the deepening of existing institutional dualisms (policy output). Thereby, changes in the labor market are translated into the social policy realm, where new distinctions arise or old institutional distinctions are re-activated. Feedback effects and vicious circles are likely to strengthen this effect because weak labor attachment and social exclusion are associated with weaker political representation

Structural change and the politics of dualization

Poverty, increased inequality, and social exclusion are back on the political agenda in Western Europe, not only as a consequence of the Great Recession of 2008, but also because of a seemingly structural trend towards increased inequality in advanced industrial societies that has persisted since the 1970s. How can we explain this increase in inequalities? Policies in labor markets, social policy, and political representation are strongly linked in the creation, widening, and deepening of insider-outsider divides—a process known as dualization. While it is certainly not the only driver of increasing inequality, the encompassing nature of its development across multiple domains makes dualization one of the most important current trends affecting developed societies. However, the extent and forms of dualization vary greatly across countries. The comparative perspective of this book provides insights into why Nordic countries witness lower levels of insider-outsider divides, whereas in continental, liberal and southern welfare states, they are more likely to constitute a core characteristic of the political economy. Most importantly, the comparisons presented in this book point to the crucial importance of politics and political choice in driving and shaping the social outcomes of deindustrialization. While increased structural labor market divides can be found across all countries, governments have a strong responsibility in shaping the distributive consequences of these labor market changes. Insider-outsider divides are not a straightforward consequence of deindustrialization, but rather the result of political choice

Social investment in the balance

This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 10 May 2018A quiet social investment (r)evolution is underway. Over the past two decades, national and EU policy makers, think-tanks, and economic and social scientists have articulated a ‘social investment’ welfare state edifice for the 21st century. In 2013, the European Commission published its most assertive endorsement, the Social Investment Package for Growth and Social Cohesion. More recently at the Social Summit in Gothenborg in November 2017, the heads of state introduced the European Pillar of Social Rights, setting key principles for resilient and fair welfare states and labour markets, many of which are related to social investments in early childhood, activation support, gender equality and work-life balance provision. Meanwhile, a growing number of EU member states have pursued social investment reforms with good outcomes on growth, employment and equity. For the panel, we take stock of the emergence, functional merits and political pitfalls of social investment reform, including its relevance for 21st century E(M)U integration