Regimes and Reform of Welfare State: the Classification of ten European Countries in 1990 and 2006

This article seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current state of knowledge with regard to the clustering of European welfare states, especially the Mediterranean countries. We want to demonstrate that the reforms be carried out well, to varying degrees, over the period 1990-2006 may have contributed to a reclassification of some countries. To this end, we analyze the positioning of ten Western European countries in 1990 and 2006 based on the two bidimensional classifications of Bonoli (1997) and Kautto (2002). Our results show some interesting changes in the positioning of some countries that seem to confirm a trend of convergence. Key words: welfare regimes, social policy, welfare reforms, longitudinal analysis

Ideal (and Real) Types of Welfare State

In the extensive literature that has been dedicated during the past fifteen years to the comparative analysis of the welfare states, a significant number of studies have focused on the identification of the ideal regimes or types, in addition to their empirical validation. The celebrated work, Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, by Esping-Andersen (1990) constituted the point of departure for a vigorous academic debate which, as a response to some of the criticisms that were raised by the study, led to the construction of various alternative typologies, as well as a prodigious output of empirical studies aiming to identify what is termed in the present paper, real types. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current state of knowledge with regard to the differences and similarities in the welfare states following the scientific contributions made over the past fifteen years. Two general conclusions emerge in particular: firstly, that the diversity of typologies has not contributed to the desired clarification; and secondly, that the results of the studies are inconclusive, both with regard to the precise number of real types of welfare state – despite the fact that all of them confirm the existence of at least three types – and to the classification of the countries concerned. The existence of significant divergences, and even of contradictory results, highlights the need for continued research. However, rather than simply constructing new typologies, it is necessary to incorporate into empirical analyses a temporal evaluation of the effects of the reforms introduced in the welfare states.Welfare state; welfare regimes; typology; social policy; social security; comparative research.

The Reform of Unemployment Protection Insurance, 1993-2007: the Erosion of Legislated Rights in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain

In the extensive literature that has been dedicated during the past fifteen years to the analysis of the reform of the welfare states, a significant number of studies have focused on the characterisation of the nature and direction of the changes in the main social programmes. This article seeks to contribute to this debate by analysing the reform of unemployment insurance schemes between 1993 and 2007 in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, as representative of the conservative regime. A comparative analysis is carried out by examining the major legislative amendments concerning eligibility criteria and entitlement conditions, as they are expressed by legislation in the four countries. The findings of the study indicate that the four countries have adopted different instruments at different moments in time, while no significant differences were detected between them, and that the legislative changes introduced in the four insurance schemes may be seen to constitute a real erosion of social rights.Welfare state reform; Retrenchment; Unemployment insurance schemes; Social rights.

Early Retirement in Portugal

This paper analyzes the early retirement decisions made by Portuguese workers aged 50 to 64. It investigates the main characteristics of early retirees, and the main determinants of their decision, based on the eight waves of the European Community Household Panel for Portugal, from 1994 to 2001. Several definitions of early retirement are considered in order to take into account the different pathways to retirement that workers may follow. Some results are robust to different methodologies: an older age, health problems, a spouse that is not working, and small family sizes generally increase the chances of early retirement.

Regimes and reform of welfare state : the classification of ten european countries

This article seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current state of knowledge with regard to the clustering of European welfare states, especially the Mediterranean countries. We want to demonstrate that the reforms be carried out well, to varying degrees, over the period 1990-2006 may have contributed to a reclassification of some countries. To this end, we analyze the positioning of ten Western European countries in 1990 and 2006 based on the two bidimensional classifications of Bonoli (1997) and Kautto (2002). Our results show some interesting changes in the positioning of some countries that seem to confirm a trend of convergence

Ideal (and Real) Types of Welfare State

In the extensive literature that has been dedicated during the past fifteen years to the comparative analysis of the welfare states, a significant number of studies have focused on the identification of the ideal regimes or types, in addition to their empirical validation. The celebrated work, Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, by Esping-Andersen (1990) constituted the point of departure for a vigorous academic debate which, as a response to some of the criticisms that were raised by the study, led to the construction of various alternative typologies, as well as a prodigious output of empirical studies aiming to identify what is termed in the present paper, real types. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current state of knowledge with regard to the differences and similarities in the welfare states following the scientific contributions made over the past fifteen years. Two general conclusions emerge in particular: firstly, that the diversity of typologies has not contributed to the desired clarification; and secondly, that the results of the studies are inconclusive, both with regard to the precise number of real types of welfare state - despite the fact that all of them confirm the existence of at least three types - and to the classification of the countries concerned. The existence of significant divergences, and even of contradictory results, highlights the need for continued research. However, rather than simply constructing new typologies, it is necessary to incorporate into empirical analyses a temporal evaluation of the effects of the reforms introduced in the welfare states

The Reform of Unemployment Protection Insurance, 1993-2007: the Erosion of Legislated Rights in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain

In the extensive literature that has been dedicated during the past fifteen years to the analysis of the reform of the welfare states, a significant number of studies have focused on the characterisation of the nature and direction of the changes in the main social programmes. This article seeks to contribute to this debate by analysing the reform of unemployment insurance schemes between 1993 and 2007 in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, as representative of the conservative regime. A comparative analysis is carried out by examining the major legislative amendments concerning eligibility criteria and entitlement conditions, as they are expressed by legislation in the four countries. The findings of the study indicate that the four countries have adopted different instruments at different moments in time, while no significant differences were detected between them, and that the legislative changes introduced in the four insurance schemes may be seen to constitute a real erosion of social rights

The use of damping material in industrial machines

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D67832/86 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Unemployment protection reforms in Southern European countries between 2004 and 2016 and the trade-off between efficiency and equity

Efficiency and equity are the two core objectives of unemployment protection schemes. Substantial academic production has focused on theoretically discussing the adverse effects of unemployment benefits as well as their empirical validation. However, the evaluations made of unemployment protection reforms, implemented in every European country, have not as a rule been based on these two state intervention objectives. Hence, this constitutes the main purpose of this article. To this end, we subjected the reform measures undertaken in four southern European countries between 2004 and 2016 to analysis. Three different profiles were identified: the Italian reforms improved both efficiency and equity; Portugal and Spain returned an opposite profile while in Greece, an improvement in efficiency was counterbalanced by a negative impact on equity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio