New Risks, New Welfare

New Risks, New Welfare PDF

Author: Peter Taylor-Gooby

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2004-11-11

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 0191533033

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This book introduces the concept of new social risks in welfare state studies and explains their relevance to the comparative understanding of social policy in Europe. New social risks arise from shifts in the balance of work and family life as a direct result of the declining importance of the male breadwinner family, changes in the labour market, and the impact of globalization on national policy-making. They differ from the old social risks of the standard industrial life-course, which were concerned primarily with interruptions to income from sickness, unemployment, retirement, and similar issues. New social risks pose new challenges for the welfare policies of European countries, such as the care of children and the elderly, more equal opportunities, the activation of labour markets and the management of needs that arise from welfare state reform, and new opportunities for the coordination of policies at the EU level. The book includes detailed and up-to-date case studies of policy development across these areas in the major European countries. These studies, written by leading experts, are organized in a comparative framework which is followed throughout the book. They highlight the way in which national welfare state regimes and institutional arrangements shape policy-making to meet new social risks. A major feature of this volume is the analysis of developments at the EU level and their interaction with national policies. The EU has been largely unsuccessful in its interventions in old social risk policy, but appears to have more success in its attempts to coordinate policy for new social risks. Experience here may provide lessons for future developments in EU policy-making. The comparative framework of the book seeks to inform an understanding of the development of new social risks in Europe and of the particular political opportunities and challenges that result. It provides an original analysis of pressing issues at the forefront of European welfare policy debate and locates it at the heart of current theoretical debates.

Health at a Glance: Europe 2020 State of Health in the EU Cycle

Health at a Glance: Europe 2020 State of Health in the EU Cycle PDF

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2020-11-19

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 926481194X

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The 2020 edition of Health at a Glance: Europe focuses on the impact of the COVID‐19 crisis. Chapter 1 provides an initial assessment of the resilience of European health systems to the COVID-19 pandemic and their ability to contain and respond to the worst pandemic in the past century.

Equity Choices and Long-term Care Policies in Europe

Equity Choices and Long-term Care Policies in Europe PDF

Author: August Österle

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

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An interdisciplinary investigation of key issues surrounding equity in long-term care. Examining equity choices in both finance and provision, the author applies an original framework for systematic comparative analysis to the long-term care policies within European welfare states.

Projections of Use and Supply of Long-term Care in Europe

Projections of Use and Supply of Long-term Care in Europe PDF

Author: Joanna Geerts

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13:

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Projections of use and supply of formal and informal carried out in Work Package 6 of the ANCIEN project show that if current patterns of care use and supply prevail, supply of care is likely to fall behind demand. This paper discusses the key policy implications of these findings. Meeting the required care capacity poses multifarious challenges for European welfare states, namely: how to limit the growing burden of LTC expenditure on social security or government budgets, especially in countries that rely heavily on formal care, and how to avoid an increased informal caregiver burden, while at the same time ensuring adequate care for disabled older persons. Technological advances could help close the care gap, by reducing the need for care and boosting the productivity of formal and informal care workers, or by lessening the need for care. As it is impossible to assess whether these efficiency gains will suffice to bridge the care gap, policies should anticipate an increasing care burden and plan accordingly for how to deal with its consequences.

Minimum Income Schemes in Europe

Minimum Income Schemes in Europe PDF

Author: International Labour Organisation

Publisher: International Labour Organization

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 9789221148395

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This book investigates the paradox of rich countries of Western Europe, who have high levels of poverty whilst proclaiming its eradication as one of the primary social and economic goals. It looks at how policies often do not achieve their goals, why countries need mechanisms to reduce wage inequality and why they choose to provide universal benefits instead of systems of selective benefits targeted at the poor. Along with cross-countries comparisons, the volume also presents analysis of the minimum income in France, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, and Greece.

Demographic Change and Housing Wealth:

Demographic Change and Housing Wealth: PDF

Author: John Doling

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-08-11

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 940074384X

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Across the EU, populations are shrinking and ageing. An increasing burden is being placed on a smaller working population to generate the taxes required for pensions and care costs. Welfare states are weakening in many countries and across Europe, households are being increasingly expected to plan for their retirement and future care needs within this risky environment. At the same time, the proportion of people buying their own home in most countries has risen, so that some two-thirds of European households now own their homes. Housing equity now considerably exceeds total European GDP. This book discusses questions like: to what extent might home ownership provide a potential cure for some of the consequences of ageing populations by realizing housing equity in order to meet the consumption needs of older people? What does this mean for patterns of inheritance and longer-term inequalities across Europe? And to what extent are governments banking on their citizens utilising their housing wealth now and in the future?

The Decline of the Welfare State

The Decline of the Welfare State PDF

Author: Assaf Razin

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2005-01-21

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9780262264365

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An analysis of the welfare state from a political economy perspective that examines the effects of aging populations, migration, and globalization on industrialized economies. In The Decline of the Welfare State, Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka use a political economy framework to analyze the effects of aging populations, migration, and globalization on the deteriorating system of financing welfare state benefits as we know them. Their timely analysis, supported by a unified theoretical framework and empirical findings, demonstrates how the combined forces of demographic change and globalization will make it impossible for the welfare state to maintain itself on its present scale. In much of the developed world, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over is expected to rise dramatically over the coming years—from 35 percent in 2000 to a projected 66 percent in 2050 in the European Union and from 27 percent to 47 percent in the United States—which may necessitate higher tax burdens and greater public debt to maintain national pension systems at current levels. Low-skill migration produces additional strains on welfare-state financing because such migrants typically receive benefits that exceed what they pay in taxes. Higher capital taxation, which could potentially be used to finance welfare benefits, is made unlikely by international tax competition brought about by globalization of the capital market. Applying a political economy model and drawing on empirical data from the EU and the United States, the authors draw an unconventional and provocative conclusion from these developments. They argue that the political pressure from both aging and migrant populations indirectly generates political processes that favor trimming rather than expanding the welfare state. The combined pressures of aging, migration, and globalization will shift the balance of political power and generate public support from the majority of the voting population for cutting back traditional welfare state benefits.

The Welfare State in Europe

The Welfare State in Europe PDF

Author: Marco Buti

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 1999-11-25

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 1782542140

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This is an analyis of the main problems in the functioning of the welfare state and possible actions for its reform. Focusing on the European Union, it looks at the achievements and challenges to the welfare state as we enter the 21st century.