Political Representation
OdayGH
8A.SocialPolicy1.pptxSocial Policy (1)
PS4282
What is Social Policy?
An institutionalized response to social and economic problems, ranging from economic insecurity to inequality and poverty
The role of social policy?
Modern social policy emerged from the Elizabethan Poor Law tradition (Polanyi 2000)
Broader meaning in relation to the population as a whole (not just the poor) e.g., public health insurance
Marshall (1964)
Historical development of modern citizenship is largely about the tension between class inequality – originated from capitalism – and egalitarian logic of citizenship
Emergence of modern citizenship involves three categories of rights: civil, political, and social
Social policy emphasizes its relationship to citizenship and the quest for a more inclusive society
Universalistic model of social rights
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What is Social Policy? (cont.)
Solidarity has been a key aspect of the political discourse about the welfare state.
Evokes shared, mutual social obligations that can legitimize new and existing social programs
Risk pooling as a key element of contemporary health-care debates that intends to share the financial risk associated with health interventions for which the need is uncertain and leads to increase the level of economic insecurity
De-commodification (Esping-Anderson 1990) : the central goal of the welfare state is to reduce the dependency of workers and their families on labor-market participation
“Decommodification occurs when a service is rendered as a matter of right and when a person can maintain livelihood without reliance on the market (Esping-Anderson 1990; p.71-72)
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What is Social Policy?
Castel (2003) – p.15-17
Transforming the status of workers through the creation of “wage society” in which employment can be a genuine source of security for workers
Modern labor law and social insurance schemes have transformed the social economic status of wage workers and their families; social policy as an attempt to domesticate the market from within
Distinct from Marshall and Esping-Anderson’s emphasis on universal services and benefits; social policy in opposition to the market
More relevant to the US perspective
American scholars highlight the role of employer-sponsored private benefits
“Hidden” American welfare state: When government tax breaks are for social welfare purposes
Welfare state program can have different roles – economic development, job creation, education, etc.
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Type of Programs: Social Assistance
Oldest type of social program
Targets poorer citizens
Means-testing: Accessible to unemployed or low-income population whose assets fall under a specific threshold
Income-testing: Low-income
Pros and Cons?
Explicitly redistributive
Politics of social assistance; deserving-ness vs undeserving-ness; the perception of its beneficiaries and its relationship to widely shared and historically constructed “categories of worth” (p.23)
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Social Insurance
Benefits based on payroll contributions
People have to contribute for a minimum time period
e.g., Social security in the US – workers and employers; Unemployment insurance – employers
To maintain people’s standard of living after retirement or during periods of disability or unemployment (risk-pooling)
The relationship between contributions and benefits
Political debate? “American values” vs “Source of earned rights”
“Historical constructions that can be transformed over time by political decisions, not immune from cutbacks and other political attacks.” (p.25)
On-going real-life example?
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Protests against pension reform in France
Universal Transfers and Services
All citizens/permanent residents are eligible to certain income transfers and social services
Political membership/residency status matters
Demogrants: Policies that are available to people of a certain age who meet specific citizenship or residency criteria
Universal provisions: Available to all people regardless of age if they are citizens and/or residents
Exclusively sourced through general revenues
Example of US social benefit that is directly related to citizenship?
Programs for current and former military personnel and their families
Q. Where are the US social programs situated? (p.26)
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Policy Areas: Work, Unemployment, and Welfare
Relationship between (1) public and private social programs; (2) the role of regulations and tax schemes that shape the private programs
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Social insurance and social assistance programs for the unemployed and the poor
Provide cash benefits, job training and educational opportunities, in-kind provisions (e.g., food stamps)
What does the status of “jobless” mean?
Unemployment insurance
Restricted access
Social assistance program
e.g., Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) ; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
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Pensions
Pension expenditures have gradually increased over the past decades
Mandatory retirement policies in many developed countries
Prominent type of pension policy
Social insurance pensions financed through employer and/or worker contributions
Social insurance path by enacting occupationally distinct schemes managed by employers and labor organizations – Belgium & France
The US?
More centralized and statist version of the old-age insurance model in the US (Social Security)
Social assistance benefits for the elderly poor
Voluntary, tax-subsidized private pensions play an important role in the UK, Canada and the US
“Three-pillar” model Social Security, private pension, and personal savings complement one another
Long-term commitments affected by slow-moving demographic transformations
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Health Care
Extremely complex; makes it harder to assess the possible impact of policy alternatives
In the US, public and private insurance schemes and state regulations have long interacted to each other
Healthcare financing
Single-payer model – State plays the dominant fiscal role (the UK, Canada)
Social insurance schemes (Belgium, France, and Germany) – (Quasi-) Universal coverage
Important role of private hospitals and insurance companies (Switzerland)
The US?
Private insurance coverage remains dominant; fragmented private system subsidized and regulated by the state
State also plays a direct role in healthcare policy via Medicare and Medicaid
Health coverage is not a randomly distributed social and economic risk
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Housing
Access to adequate housing is one of the most basic human needs; Homelessness being a radical form of insecurity and deprivation
Construction of affordable housing units (the UK, France, the Netherlands)
The US?
Allowances for privately rented housing; Voucher program (cash assistance to vulnerable social categories)
Home-mortgage interest deduction that reduces their income tax burden proportionally to the interests they pay on their mortgage
A hidden, indirect subsidy to the American construction industry
The “social” nature of the policies, as home ownership can be a major source of economic security
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Family Benefits
Aim to increase the well-being and economic security of parents and their children, to help parents balance between their domestic and their professional lives
Can reduce gender inequalities
Child-care programs, family allowances, parental leaves
Comprehensive public child-care is largely absent in the US; Private child-care industry, indirectly subsidized through provisions of the tax code, has expanded
Family allowances provide financial support to parents and to boost or at least maintain fertility rates
No national parental leave policy in the US until 1993; only about 60% of all employees eligible for the (unpaid) leave under Family and Medical Leave Act
The US offers less generous public support for both child-care and early childhood development
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