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The adjustment path of the Austrian welfare state: back to Bismarck?
- Authors:
- UNGER Brigitte, HEITZMANN Karin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 13(4), November 2003, pp.371-387.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article argues that Austria, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands follow 'corporatist' model of the welfare state, rooted in the idea of Bismark.
Comparing unemployment protection and social assistance in 14 European countries. Four worlds of protection for people of working age
- Author:
- PFEIFER Michaela
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(1), January 2012, pp.13-25.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Unemployment is a major source of income insecurity. This can be particularly important in times of economic downturn, as large parts of the population are at greater risk of unemployment. This article investigated which policy responses 14 Western European countries have adopted to deal with rising unemployment levels and increased need for benefits during working age. Both components of unemployment benefits (UB), unemployment insurance and unemployment assistance, were taken into account in a social rights indicator that depicts the legal entitlements of the unemployed. In total, there were eight indicators of both UB and social assistance representing expenditure, generosity, problem pressure and benefit entitlements. There were four ways of protecting the working-aged: an extensive safety nets type operating well with functioning labour markets; a liberal protection type dealing with low levels of unemployment; a targeted protection type combined with an insider–outsider divide on the labour market; and a patchy safety nets type facing high unemployment levels.
One welfare state emerging?: convergence versus divergence in 16 western countries
- Authors:
- ACHTERBERG Peter, YERKES Mara
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 25(3), October 2009, pp.189-201.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article aims to investigate the empirical validity of the convergence thesis, which assumes that welfare states are increasingly similar because more generous universal welfare states are adopting policies of retrenchment and neo-liberalisation. Using data on the popularity of neo-liberal ideology, welfare state expenditures and the generosity of this spending for 16 western countries, the authors find that there is no general trend towards neo-liberalisation and retrenchment. However there is a trend towards convergence. More generous, universal welfare states are becoming more liberalised, and liberal welfare states are expanding, which causes convergence in the middle. In attempting to explain why welfare states are converging, the authors find that although they do not converge on neo-liberalisation as is often thought, two common explanations used to support the neo-liberal convergence arguments, globalisation and Europeanisation, can explain the “middle-of-the-road” convergence found here.
Networking in Europe: a guide to European voluntary organisations
- Author:
- HARVEY Brian
- Publisher:
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 337p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Gives detailed guidance on how to contact voluntary organisations in other parts of Europe. Describes the many networks which have grown up in recent years and shows how they work with the European Union, Council of Europe and United Nations. Includes accounts of the voluntary sector in each of the EU countries, highlighting key organisations in each field. Provides information on European programmes providing opportunities to influence policy. Also includes a section on information on Europe and how to get hold of it.
Coverage versus generosity: comparing eligibility and need assessment in six cash‐for‐care programmes
- Authors:
- RANCI Costanzo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 53(4), 2019, pp.551-566.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper investigates the potential trade‐offs between extension of coverage and adequate generosity in cash‐for‐care (CfC) programmes in six European countries (Austria, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain), which are characterised by different configurations of CfC programmes. Building on an empirical analysis of the eligibility rules, of the regulation applied to classify beneficiaries according to their level of dependency, and the ways CfC benefits are distributed among them, it becomes clear that these programmes differ substantially in terms of coverage and generosity. Such differences reflect the variety of ways by which universalism, selectivity, and adequacy are built up together throughout Europe. (Edited publisher abstract)
Analysis of the national Roma integration strategies
- Authors:
- KAMMERER Sophie, PFOHMAN Shannon
- Publisher:
- European Roma Policy Coalition
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 66p.
- Place of publication:
- Brussels
Under the new European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, EU Member States were required to submit strategies on Roma inclusion to the European Commission (EC) by the end of December 2011. In a first step, the European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC) carried out desk screening assessments of the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS) submitted by the governments of Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Wales, as well as the Czech Republic’s Roma Integration Concept for 2010 to 2013. In a second step, the ERPC gathered the views of Roma and Traveller organisations and civil society on the processes that led to the design of the NRIS in the different Member States. This report is divided into three main parts. The first part is based on an analysis of ERPC reviewers on the NRIS for the different Member States that submitted a strategy. The second part reflects an analysis of survey results on various stakeholders’ perspectives of the NRIS. The third part reflects the lessons learnt and the recommendations.
Quasi-markets in employment policy: do they deliver on promises?
- Authors:
- BREDGAARD Thomas, LARSEN Flemming
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 7(3), July 2008, pp.341-352.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article focuses on the contracting-out of Public Employments Services. Quasi-markets promise to deliver more efficient, effective and de-bureaucratised employment services. By comparing experiences from Holland, Australia and Denmark the authors investigate whether quasi-markets deliver on promises. Quasi-market models have difficulties in living up to the preconditions for a well-functioning market and political expectations. Efficiency gains and cost-savings are still largely unknown. Instead it is clear that quasi-markets create a new type of employment policy, and new conditions for governing the labour market and employment policy. Clouded in the ‘technical’ language of improved efficiency and effectiveness, such changes are often neglected and depoliticised.
Swapping policies: alternative tax-benefit strategies to support children in Austria, Spain and the UK
- Authors:
- LEVY Horacio, LIETZ Christine, SUTHERLAND Holly
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy, 36(4), October 2007, pp.625-647.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
Three European countries with very different tax-benefit systems have recently substantially increased the level of support for children: Austria, Spain and the UK. Austria mainly makes use of universal benefits; Spain, tax concessions; and the UK means-tested benefits and tax credits. This article addresses the question of whether the chosen strategies are in fact the most effective for each country. It considers what would have happened if these countries had transformed the architecture of their systems in either of the other two directions. It makes use of EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model that is designed for making cross-country comparisons, to explore the distributional and, in particular, child poverty effects of budget-neutral alternatives. The results show that three factors – the level of spending, its structure, and the way it impacts in a particular national context – affect the outcomes to varying degrees.
Gender policies and the position of women in the police force in European countries
- Authors:
- VAN DER LIPPE Tanja, GRAUMANS Anne, SEVENHUIJSEN Selma
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 14(4), November 2004, pp.391-405.
- Publisher:
- Sage
There is still a wide gap between the participation of men and women in the police force. In this article, we discuss existing barriers to gender policies aimed at improving the situation of women in the police force in four European countries, namely, Sweden, Spain (more specifically, Catalonia), Austria, and the Netherlands. Interviews as well as an expert meeting have been held to gain insight into the barriers to gender equality. As it turns out, gender mainstreaming policies form an important key to the process of raising women’s position in the police force. Although organizational structures have to change before cultural issues can be addressed, the most important existing barrier to gender equality proves to be the culture within the organization: in all four countries we studied, the police force is still male-dominated. With respect to gender equality in the police force, Sweden shows itself to be a front runner, followed by the Netherlands, Austria, and latecomer Catalonia.
Mrs Miller moves house : the interoperability of local public services in Europe
- Author:
- KINDER Tony
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 13(2), May 2003, pp.141-157.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article analyses the political, social, economic and technological dimensions of interoperability of information and communication technologies in the services of local council and public administrations. New empirical research features an everyday life-event: a hypothetical Mrs Miller moving house. Seven councils from six EU states detail how interoperable their local services are and their plans and perspectives for interoperability. The article argues that interoperability is best conceptualised holistically and is not only a technical issue. It concludes with an analysis and comments on public policy.