A paper examined the social security rules of European Union member states and the opportunities and challenges for providing greater clarity and ease of movement between countries.
Source: Meghan Benton, Reaping the Benefits? Social security coordination for mobile EU citizens, Migration Policy Institute
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Nov
A new book examined the decline of the 'European social model' and the reasons for its limited resilience. It assessed the impact of the ongoing economic crisis on the foundations of European social and labour law, and suggested novel avenues to rebuild 'social Europe'.
Source: Nicola Countouris and Mark Freedland (eds), Resocialising Europe in a Time of Crisis, Cambridge University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Nov
The Prime Minister said that government policy on migration from the European Union would change. He said that migrants' benefits entitlements would be restricted, and that those who were begging or sleeping rough would be removed and barred from re-entry for 12 months unless they were able to evidence a reason for re-entry. He also announced an increase in the fine for those employing people at below the minimum wage.
Source: David Cameron, 26 November 2013, Financial Times,
Links: Article | FEANTSA press release | BBC report I | BBC report II | Civitas report | Guardian report | Independent report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined whether national identity could function as social 'glue' underpinning public support in Europe for the welfare state by encouraging the identification with co-nationals essential for redistribution. Evidence was found that conceptions of national identity were linked to general welfare state support, whereas civic and cultural ones were not: but all three national self-conceptions induced welfare chauvinism against immigrants, albeit to varying degrees, an effect that strengthened as immigrant diversity increased. There was therefore nothing to suggest that national identity could sustain public support for redistribution in increasingly diversified societies.
Source: Matthew Wright and Tim Reeskens, 'Of what cloth are the ties that bind? National identity and support for the welfare state across 29 European countries', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 20 Issue 10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Oct
A report said that in most European Union countries, EU citizens from other member states used welfare benefits no more intensively than the host country's nationals. Economically inactive citizens accounted for a very small share of beneficiaries of special non-contributory cash benefits (funded from general taxation). Employment remained the key driver for intra-EU migration, with activity rates among such migrants having risen over the previous 7 years.
Source: ICF GHK and Milieu Ltd, A Fact Finding Analysis on the Impact on the Member States' Social Security Systems of the Entitlements of Non-Active Intra-EU Migrants to Special Non-Contributory Cash Benefits and Healthcare Granted on the Basis of Residence, European Commissionn
Links: Report | EC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Oct
The government began consultation on the balance of competences between the United Kingdom and European Union in the areas of social and employment policy. The consultation would close on 17 January 2014.
Source: Government Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Call for Evidence – Social and Employment Review, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills/Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Department for Work and Pensions/Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Health and Safety Executive
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2013-Oct
An article presented some of the main features of recent work by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on people's well-being and societies' progress. After discussing the main limitations of national income as a measure of 'welfare', it examined the multi-dimensional framework and rationale underpinning the OECD 'Better Life Initiative', and described how this framework aimed to overcome the limitations of national income. It also presented some of the evidence from an index that allowed citizens to compare countries according to their own views and preferences on the relative importance of the different aspects of human well-being.
Source: Romina Boarini and Marco Mira D'Ercole, 'Going beyond GDP: an OECD perspective', Fiscal Studies, Volume 34 Issue 3, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper examined the spatial and institutional conditions under which localized forms of social innovation could complement and strengthen existing institutionalized welfare programmes and schemes in Europe. It highlighted the main insights and concepts derived from the literature on state rescaling and multi-level governance that helped to shed light on the relationship between local social innovation and the welfare state. It explored how variations in territorial organization, mode of governance, and welfare regime could correspond to variations in the openness to (and capacity for) social innovation.
Source: Stijn Oosterlynck, Yuri Kazepov, Andreas Novy, Pieter Cools, Florian Wukovitsch, Tatiana Saruis, Eduardo Barberis, and Bernhard Leubolt, Exploring the Multi-Level Governance of Welfare Provision and Social Innovation: Welfare mix, welfare models and rescaling, ImPRovE Discussion Paper 13/12, Centre for Social Policy (Antwerp University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the impact of selected labour market and health policies on subjective well-being, using well-being data for developed (OECD) countries. The generosity of unemployment benefits and the strictness of employment protection legislation affected life satisfaction positively, whereas out-of-pocket health expenses significantly reduced subjective well-being.
Source: Romina Boarini, Margherita Comola, Femke de Keulenaer, Robert Manchin, and Conal Smith, 'Can governments boost people s sense of well-being? The impact of selected labour market and health policies on life satisfaction', Social Indicators Research, Volume 114 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the establishment of new official statistical indicators on quality of life and well-being in the European Union. It said that the statistics were a potentially important resource for researchers and policy-makers.
Source: Marleen De Smedt, 'Measuring subjective issues of well-being and quality of life in the European statistical system', Social Indicators Research, Volume 114 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined whether public policy in Europe should focus on minimizing unhappiness rather than maximizing happiness. Unhappiness varied a great deal more across social groups than (high levels of) happiness did. Although misery appeared to strongly relate to broad social issues (such as unemployment, poverty, and social isolation), bliss might be more of a private matter hidden from policy-makers. The social cost of unhappiness might be also reflected in the immense cost of mental health problems. Preventing avoidable unhappiness, however, needed to be complemented by other strategies for promoting happiness, perhaps on a more decentralized level, given the different causes of bliss and of misery.
Source: Orsolya Lelkes, 'Minimising misery: a new strategy for public policies instead of maximising happiness?', Social Indicators Research, Volume 114 Number 1
Links: Abstract
See also: Orsolya Lelkes, Minimising Misery: A new strategy for public policies instead of maximising happiness?, MPRA Paper 45435, Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the role of a pre-existing stock of social trust in explaining the long-run sustainability of comprehensive welfare states. It considered factors such as high levels of political confidence, strong legal institutions protecting private property rights, and low levels of bureaucratic corruption.
Source: Christian Bjornskov and Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, 'Does social trust determine the size of the welfare state? Evidence using historical identification', Public Choice, Volume 157 Issue 1-2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
An article sought to contribute to the debate on the 'dependent variable problem' in comparative welfare state analysis, by focusing on 'benefit recipiency' as a hitherto largely neglected type of indicator for understanding cross-national and longitudinal variation between welfare states. It used data for the European Union countries to calculate and compare rates of access to a series of benefits among working-age populations, as well as the relative amounts of benefits received. The main conclusion was that benefit recipiency data were a promising source for comparative welfare state analysis. However, like other data sources, they were not without problems, and more work needed to be done to assess their value, relative to more commonly used indicators.
Source: Wim Van Oorschot, 'Comparative welfare state analysis with survey-based benefit recipiency data: the "dependent variable problem" revisited', European Journal of Social Security, 2013 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A new book examined the normative and legal evolution of the 'social dimension' – labour law, social security law, and family law – in both the European Union and its member states.
Source: Ann Numhauser-Henning and Mia Ronnmar (eds), Normative Patterns and Legal Developments in the Social Dimension of the EU, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jul
An article proposed a framework composed of seven dimensions for evaluating European welfare states, based on the opinions of the public. Attitudes to the welfare state were multi-dimensional: in general, people were very positive about the welfare state's goals and range, while simultaneously being critical of its efficiency, effectiveness, and policy outcomes. Eastern/southern Europeans combined a positive attitude to the goals and role of government with a more critical attitude to the welfare state's efficiency and policy outcomes. In contrast, western/northern Europeans' attitudes were based partly on a fundamentally positive or negative stance towards the welfare state.
Source: Femke Roosma, John Gelissen, and Wim van Oorschot, 'The multidimensionality of welfare state attitudes: a European cross-national study', Social Indicators Research, Volume 113 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper said that there was 'no robust evidence' for a relationship between national income per capita and life satisfaction in either Germany or the United Kingdom.
Source: Tobias Pfaff and Johannes Hirata, Testing the Easterlin Hypothesis with Panel Data: The dynamic relationship between life satisfaction and economic growth in Germany and in the UK, SOEPpaper 554, German Institute for Economic Research
Links: Paper
See also: Tobias Pfaff, Income Comparisons, Income Adaptation, and Life Satisfaction: How robust are estimates from survey data?, SOEPpaper 555, German Institute for Economic Research
Date: 2013-Jun
Researchers found positive effects of comparison income on happiness for people aged under 45 in Britain and Germany, and negative effects for those over 45.
Source: Felix FitzRoy, Michael Nolan, Max Steinhardt, and David Ulph, Testing the Tunnel Effect: Comparison, age and happiness in UK and German panels, Discussion Paper 7452, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the relationship between the objective and subjective side of the quality of life in European countries. It said that the linkages between them were not strong. Answers to questions about the connexions between material conditions (financial situation) and overall feeling of happiness were strongly influenced by context.
Source: Virag Havasi, 'Financial situation and its consequences on the quality of life in the EU countries', Social Indicators Research, Volume 113 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined whether the structure of social policy institutions shaped the level of public support for the welfare state in 17 advanced capitalist democracies across three policy areas: healthcare, pensions, and unemployment. Important cross-programme variations were found in public attitudes and welfare state design, masked by traditional measures of universality and public support. There was evidence of policy feedback effects.
Source: Jason Jordan, 'Policy feedback and support for the welfare state', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 23 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
An article examined, with regard to three welfare state programmes, whether the provision of social rights in 18 western democracies since 1960 had been shaped by benefit generosity in other countries. Diffusion was found to be present: but it varied by programme and over time.
Source: Carina Schmitt and Herbert Obinger, 'Spatial interdependencies and welfare state generosity in western democracies, 1960-2000', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 23 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A paper examined the impact of including the value of public healthcare, long-term care, education, and childcare on estimates of income inequality and financial poverty in 23 European countries. To account for the fact that the receipt of public services was associated with particular needs, a theory-based common equivalence scale was introduced, termed the needs-adjusted European Union scale. Even though the ranking of countries by estimates of overall inequality and poverty proved to be only slightly affected by the choice between the conventional scale (accounting only for the size of the household) and the adjusted scale, poverty estimates by household types were shown to be significantly affected by the choice of equivalence scale.
Source: Rolf Aaberge, Audun Langorgen, and Petter Lindgren, The Distributional Impact of Public Services in European Countries: 2013 edition, Eurostat (European Union)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-May
An article examined whether the increased focus by European countries on new social risks and social investment had changed welfare states' commitment to redistribute from rich to poor groups. It compared the distribution of benefits from 'old' spending categories (such as retirement or unemployment) with those from 'new' ones (such as having care responsibilities). No evidence was found that new social spending would necessarily mean renouncing egalitarian ambitions. On the contrary, the distribution of new spending was more equal or pro-poor than the spending on old social risks. Different households benefited in distinct ways: elderly people benefited the most from traditional spending, and families with children from new spending.
Source: Maria Vaalavuo, 'The redistributive impact of "old" and "new" social spending', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 42 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
An article examined the role of the European Court of Justice in undermining the ability of states to retain their regulatory autonomy over labour or social welfare law and, arguably, speeding up the unravelling of the 'embedded liberal bargain' under which institutions of social citizenship at domestic level served to counter the liberalization of the internal market.
Source: Diamond Ashiagbor, 'Unravelling the embedded liberal bargain: labour and social welfare law in the context of EU market integration', European Law Journal, Volume 19 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A paper examined whether public policy in Europe should focus on minimizing unhappiness rather than maximizing happiness. Unhappiness varied a great deal more across social groups than (high levels of) happiness did. Although misery appeared to strongly relate to broad social issues (such as unemployment, poverty, and social isolation), unhappiness might be more of a private matter, hidden from policy-makers. Preventing avoidable unhappiness, however, needed to be complemented with other strategies for promoting happiness, perhaps on a more decentralized level.
Source: Orsolya Lelkes, Minimising Misery: A new strategy for public policies instead of maximising happiness?, MPRA Paper 45435, Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Apr
A new book said that the success of attempts to expand the boundaries of the post-war welfare state in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom had depended on organized labour's willingness to support redistribution of risk and income among different groups of workers. It traced the historical origins of 'inclusive' and 'dual' welfare systems, highlighting the fact that labour unions could either have a profoundly conservative impact on the welfare state or act as an impelling force for progressive welfare reform.
Source: Dennie Oude Nijhuis, Labor Divided in the Postwar European Welfare State: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the linkage between institutional configuration and social trust in advanced industrial democracies, highlighting the role of welfare states in co-ordinating interests among different labour market actors. Public investment in skill provision prevalent in training-supplemented welfare states led to higher accumulation of social trust, whereas passive social transfers resulted in lower social trust.
Source: Cheol-Sung Lee, 'Welfare states and social trust', Comparative Political Studies, Volume 46 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A European Commission report said that the worsening social situation, and problems over the sustainability of social protection systems, required action across Europe. It called for a 'social investment' approach, under which member states modernized their welfare systems by preparing people to confront lifetime risks, thus reducing the need to 'repair' the consequences.
Source: Investing in Social Europe, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Apr
A comprehensive framework was published for internationally comparable and 'intellectually robust' data on subjective well-being.
Source: OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-Being, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Guidelines | OECD press release
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined the typology of welfare regimes developed by Gosta Esping-Andersen. It said that the seven indicators used did not form valid measures of welfare regimes. In addition to divergences in their measurement, the seven indicators were a mixture of institutional characteristics of welfare systems and outcome measures of social stratification. But a measurement model based on the five institutional characteristics of welfare regimes that pertained to social insurance did fit the data. The authors proposed a three-dimensional model of conservative and liberal social insurance, which treated universal insurance coverage as the third dimension, instead of Esping-Andersen's 'socialist' regime. Although this did not fundamentally alter the typology, it had implications for previous studies that employed country scores based on Esping-Andersen's method as independent variables in causal models.
Source: Robert Jan van der Veen and Wouter van der Brug, 'Three worlds of social insurance: on the validity of Esping-Andersen's welfare regime dimensions', British Journal of Political Science, Volume 43 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
A new book examined the trend since the mid-1990s for European welfare states to put less emphasis on income protection and more on the promotion of labour market participation. The shift towards an active social policy was only in part a response to a changed economic environment: it was also the result of political competition, and particularly the extent to which active social policy could be used for 'credit claiming' purposes.
Source: Giuliano Bonoli, The Origins of Active Social Policy: Labour market and childcare policies in a comparative perspective, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Mar
A paper examined the extent to which European welfare states had moved in the direction of social investment in terms of spending, and how well they were performing socio-economically – for instance in terms of unemployment, poverty reduction, and work-family life reconciliation. Countries with high(er) levels of social investment spending performed better in terms of unemployment and poverty reduction. However, the scope and timing of moves towards social investment varied considerably across countries, in the face of entrenched interests blocking fundamental reform. There was a need for an European Union social investment pact.
Source: Anton Hemerijck, Verena Drabing, Barbara Vis, Moira Nelson, and Menno Soentken, European Welfare States in Motion, Working Paper D5.2, NEUJOBS Research Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Mar
A report advocated an approach to decision-making in Europe based on shared social responsibilities. It said that it was essential to reformulate existing social choices, ensuring that social, intergenerational, and environmental justice lay at their heart.
Source: Shared Social Responsibility: Putting theory into practice, Council of Europe
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined the impact of European Union membership on the per capita income, longevity, and welfare of the member states. There was convergence among EU countries in per capita income, expected lifetime, and welfare. Convergence speed was highest for per capita income and slowest for welfare. EU membership positively affected income, longevity, and welfare growth rates.
Source: Ender Sevinc and Abdulkadir Civan, 'The effect of European Union membership on welfare', Review of European Studies, Volume 5 Number 1
Date: 2013-Feb
A paper examined the ascent and decline of the neo-liberal approach to welfare in Europe, and an emerging 'liberal neo-welfarism' based on the values of human dignity, freedom, equality, and solidarity.
Source: Maurizio Ferrera, Liberal Neo-Welfarism: New perspectives for the European social model, Opinion Paper 14, European Social Observatory (Brussels)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Feb
An article tested the capability approach to well-being (advanced by Amartya Sen) using 25 years of German and 18 years of British data. The findings strongly supported Sen's capabilities framework and provided evidence on the way in which capabilities, choices, and constraints mattered for objective and subjective well-being. Capabilities (relating to human capital, trust, altruism, and risk taking) and choices (relating to family, work-leisure, lifestyle, and social behaviour) were shown to strongly affect long-term changes in subjective and objective well-being – though in different ways, largely depending on the type of well-being measure used.
Source: Ruud Muffels and Bruce Headey, 'Capabilities and choices: do they make Sen se for understanding objective and subjective well-being? An empirical test of Sen s capability framework on German and British panel data', Social Indicators Research, Volume 110 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
A paper examined the typology of welfare states, and surveyed the challenges facing them. It said that previous approaches had tended to leave out the question of how political forces worked within the frame of different welfare regimes. There had been a significant trend to convergence between developed nations as regards the proportion of national income spent on welfare: but political factors determined whether this was state-provided or private welfare.
Source: Jorgen Goul Andersen, Welfare States and Welfare State Theory, Working Paper, Centre for Comparative Welfare Studies (Aalborg University, Denmark)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jan
A paper examined the extent to which well-being differences between individuals living in different European states could be traced back to specific national labour market policy designs. Although unemployment had strong negative life satisfaction effects all over Europe, the generosity of passive labour market policy moderated this effect to a surprisingly large extent: the adverse effect of unemployment was almost doubled in a country with meagre unemployment benefits. This moderating effect could be explained both by a resource as well as a non-pecuniary mechanism. In contrast, the moderating effect of active labour market policy was less robust across model specifications.
Source: Melike Wulfgramm, Country-Specific Life Satisfaction Effects of Unemployment: Does labour market policy matter?, Working Paper 07/2012, Centre for Social Policy Research (University of Bremen)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jan
The European Commission published an annual review of social and employment developments, highlighting a 'deepening economic and social crisis'. A new divide was emerging between (on the one hand) countries that seemed trapped in a downward spiral of falling output, massively rising unemployment, and eroding disposable incomes and (on the other) those that had at least so far shown some resilience – partly thanks to better functioning labour markets and more robust welfare systems. The crisis had affected groups already at heightened risk, notably young adults, children, and to some extent migrants, thus contributing to social polarization. Europe had been struggling to find appropriate policy responses. There was a need to modernize social protection systems and create better and fairer taxation systems. An effective social protection system that helped those in need was not an obstacle to prosperity, but was in fact an indispensable element of it.
Source: Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2012, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined the debate on gendering welfare states. It criticized typologies based on the differentiation between degrees of familialization and defamilialization, and proposed a new typology based on the notion of genderization and degenderization. It also argued against the notion of regime types, which included outputs in their classification systems. Instead it argued that typologies should concentrate on policies to make it possible for researchers and policy-makers to analyze the influence of different types of policies on different societies. It was important to know whether similar policies would lead to different outcomes under different socio-economic or cultural conditions. The author showed it was possible to analyze family policies using a typology based on genderization and degenderization.
Source: Steven Saxonberg, 'From defamilialization to degenderization: toward a new welfare typology', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 47 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined the influences of social expenditures and social services on financial support and practical help from older parents to their adult children in Europe. It was found that social policy played an important role in intergenerational transfer patterns. The more public assistance was provided to citizens, the more likely it was that parents supported their adult children financially and practically.
Source: Martina Brandt and Christian Deindl, 'Intergenerational transfers to adult children in Europe: do social policies matter?', Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 75 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined recent research on party politics and the welfare state. The traditional approach stated that left-wing and right-wing parties held contrasting positions on welfare issues, depending on the interests of their respective electorates. This view had recently been challenged by three strands of research, which emphasized: the effects of electoral change on parties' policy positions; the role of context – notably electoral institutions, party competition, and the configuration of party systems; and the impact of different linkages between parties and electorates (particularistic versus programmatic).
Source: Silja Hausermann, Georg Picot, and Dominik Geering, 'Rethinking party politics and the welfare state – recent advances in the literature', British Journal of Political Science, Volume 43 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined partisan effects on welfare state retrenchment. It said that partisan effects were found in programmes protecting against social risks that were disproportionally distributed among social strata.
Source: Michael Baggesen Klitgaard and Christian Elmelund-Praestekaer, 'Partisan effects on welfare state retrenchment: empirical evidence from a measurement of government intentions', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 47 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined whether voters in developed countries would punish their governments for cutting welfare state entitlements. Most parties with a positive welfare image lost support after they implemented cutbacks, whereas most parties with a negative welfare image did not.
Source: Gijs Schumacher, Barbara Vis, and Kees van Kersbergen, 'Political parties welfare image, electoral punishment and welfare state retrenchment', Comparative European Politics, Volume 11 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
