Explaining the variety of social policy responses to economic crisis: How parties and welfare state structures interact

This paper maps and explains the reactions of four welfare states - Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden - to three global crisis situations - the oil shocks of the 1970s, the worldwide recession of the early 1990s, and the financial crisis from 2008 onwards. Two main conclusions follow from the analysis: First, using a comprehensive typology of social policy reactions to crises, we show that crisis reactions were surprisingly diverse. There is no uniform policy response, as policies range from retrenchment through non-response to welfare state expansion. Second, explaining the variation regarding expansion vs. retrenchment we focus on the partisan composition of government, and the size of the existing welfare state, which may operate as an important automatic stabilizer during recessions. While none of these factors alone is sufficient, their interaction is able to explain most of the specific social policy responses adopted in the four countries studied. -- Das Arbeitspapier beschreibt und erklärt die Reaktionen von vier Wohlfahrtsstaaten - Australien, Belgien, die Niederlande und Schweden - auf drei globale Krisensituationen - die Ölpreisschocks der 1970er Jahre, die weltweite Rezession in den frühen 1990ern und die Finanzkrise nach 2008. Zwei Schlussfolgerungen können gezogen werden: Erstens zeigen wir, basierend auf einer umfassenden Typologie sozialpolitischer Krisenreaktionen, dass Krisenreaktionen überraschend unterschiedlich ausfielen. Es gibt keine einheitliche Krisenantwort, Reaktionen reichen vielmehr von Kürzungen, über bewusste Nicht-Reaktion, bis hin zu sozialpolitischem Ausbau. Zweitens konzentrieren wir uns zur Erklärung der Variation im Hinblick auf Rückbau und Ausbau einerseits auf die parteipolitische Zusammensetzung der Regierung und andererseits auf die Größe des existierenden Wohlfahrtsstaats, der in Zeiten wirtschaftlicher Rezession als wichtiger automatischer Stabilisator wirken kann. Obgleich keiner dieser Faktoren allein ausreicht, ist ihre Interaktion in der Lage, die meisten spezifischen sozialpolitischen Reaktionen der vier Länder zu erklären.

In the wake of the economic crisis: Social change and welfare state reforms

The economic crisis of 2008 is a global phenomenon with far-ranging impact. Its effects reach beyond the economic sphere, impacting the lives of individuals. When confronted with job loss and financial hardship, people look for new income sources, change their world views and attitudes, and remodel their interaction with each other. As a result, societies change. Families grow closer together, and tensions between generations and between migrants and non-migrants increase. Governments have to consolidate their finances while reacting to the increasing need for welfare state intervention. In doing so, they take different approaches that reflect the country-specific history and welfare state institutions. This working paper gives an overview of social change and welfare state reform in the wake of the economic crisis. For this purpose, it presents discussions and findings from two classes that were taught at universities in Germany. The material includes the outcomes of a grounded theory study that was conducted in the framework of one of these classes, summaries from various essays that students wrote for the classes, and from a book that was used as teaching material. The arguments brought forth in the working paper illustrate how the economic crisis influences e.g. social inequalities, life-courses, family relations, anti-foreigner sentiments, migration, and welfare policies. It, thereby, serves as an excellent starting point for reflections on what societies will be like post-economic crisis

Covid-19, migrant workers and the resilience of social care in Europe

The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of social care. In many countries, social care occupations have been put on lists of ‘essential occupations’, meaning that workers in these occupations were exempted from lockdown restrictions in order to facilitate continuity of care. Some of these care workers have witnessed the dramatic death toll of the corona virus in nursing homes, while also facing increased risks themselves (ILO, 2020a). In many European countries, migrant workers are an important part of the social care workforce. This piece explores how this reliance on migrant workers relates to the resilience of social care provision during adverse circumstances. Following OECD (2020), resilience is understood as ‘the ability to withstand, recover from, and adapt to unexpected external shocks’. The focus of this preliminary analysis is on non-medical care for elderly and disabled in Western Europe, including both care provided in the home of the recipient and in institutions, such as nursing homes. It also gives some attention to domestic work, meaning activities like cleaning or cooking, because the boundary between domestic work and care work is often blurry.With the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Unio

Caring Migrants in European Welfare Regimes: The policies and practice of migrant labour filling the gaps in social care

Defence date: 31/05/2011Examining Board: Prof. Martin Kohli, European University Institute Dr. Virginie Guiraudon, Ceraps, Université Lille 2 Prof. Anton Hemerijck, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. Chiara Saraceno, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für SozialforschungThis study analyses the role of migrant workers in social care and the policy responses to this phenomenon in Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In contrast to previous research on migrant care work, this study incorporates both private and agency-based employment in child and elderly care. It applies a comparative case study approach relying on micro level survey data, expert interviews, policy documents, newspaper articles and secondary sources. Theoretically the research engages with welfare regime theory and with theories on the politics of migration and the politics of the welfare state. The demand for migrant workers in social care is strongest in elderly care. Cross country differences are related to variation in employment conditions. Migrant workers are overrepresented when social care jobs are badly paid, offer limited career opportunities and require extensive shift work. These employment conditions are significantly shaped by social care policies. It is argued that a Familialistic care regime, as demonstrated by the Italian case, fosters the emergence of a ‘migrant in the family’ model of employment. A Liberal care regime, as revealed by the UK case, induces a ‘migrant in the market’ model. By contrast, a Social Democratic care regime, as approximated by the case of Dutch elderly care, does not create any particular demand for migrant workers in the social care sector. Differences in care regimes influenced Italian, British and Dutch migration and care policies divergently. In Italy the presence of private migrant care workers absolved the state from reforming its social care system and meanwhile relatively generous migration policies for migrant care workers were enacted. In the Netherlands strong stakeholders guaranteed continuous investments in employment conditions of the elderly care workforce and migration policies have not granted any privileges to care workers. UK immigration policy reform has tightened eligibility criteria for care workers; nonetheless, it is questionable whether public investments in elderly care are sufficient to attract enough native employees

Welfare Provision beyond National Boundaries: The Politics of Migration and Elderly Care in Italy

In reaction to a growing need for elderly care services, Italian families have engaged migrant workers to care for their dependent family member. Italian social and migration policies have favoured and reinforced this practice, which is puzzling given the strong antiimmigrant sentiments currently present in Italy. While institutional factors can partly explain policy outcomes, we need to look at the interconnectedness of welfare regimes and migration to better understand Italian developments. The presence of migrant care workers allowed Italy not to reform its elderly care system. At the same time the familistic Italian welfare regime helps to explain the broadly shared positive attitude towards migrant care workers, which has contributed to expansive immigration policies

The Governmentalization of the Trade Union and the Potential of Union-Based Resistance. The Case of Undocumented Migrant Domestic Workers in the Netherlands Making Rights Claims

Ambivalence about rights is well known: rights may both challenge existing injustices while simultaneously re-enforcing sovereign regulatory control over citizens. In this article, we focus on the paradox that potentially radical and transformative claims to rights are made at a site – civil society – that under liberal governmentality has increasingly become a site of government. By exploring the unionization of undocumented migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in the Netherlands, we aim to show how rights claims are shaped and controlled by civil society. Using the analytical category of (in)visibility, the case study discloses the dualistic role of the union. On the one hand, the union operated as a site of resistance supporting undocumented MDWs to make their rights claims. On the other hand, it operated as a site of government of the same undocumented MDWs by selectively promoting work-related rights claims and excluding more radical claims for the right to come and go

The Shock Routine:Economic Crisis and the Nature of Social Policy Responses

The idea that moments of crisis form opportunities for fundamental policy change is widespread in political science and public policy. It is usually associated with historical institutionalism and the notion of 'critical junctures'. On the basis of an in-depth analysis of social policy responses in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden over the course of four global economic shocks, we ask whether the notion of critical junctures is useful in understanding the nature of change triggered by crisis. The main empirical finding is that fundamental change in the aftermath of an exogenous shock is the exception rather than the rule. Instead, incremental 'crisis routines' based on existing policy instruments are overwhelmingly used to deal with economic hardship. We discuss these findings in the light of the psychological 'threat-rigidity' effect and reflect on their consequences for theories of comparative policy analysis and institutional change. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis

The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis

Starke P, Kaasch A, van Hooren F. The Welfare State as Crisis Manager. Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis. Transformations of the State. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2013.This book presents an in-depth analysis of social policy reactions to international economic shocks in four different welfare states, over a 40-year period. It reveals how expansion and retrenchment are shaped by domestic politics and existing welfare state institutions

Political parties and social policy responses to global economic crisis: Constrained partisanship in mature welfare states

Starke P, Kaasch A, Van Hooren F. Political parties and social policy responses to global economic crisis: Constrained partisanship in mature welfare states. Journal of Social Policy. 2014;43(2):225-246

Inclusive advocacy? trade-union activity in support of the rights of domestic workers in continental Europe

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