An article said that corporate welfare – direct and indirect state support to corporations – was commonplace in developed (OECD) countries, with various forms of assistance being delivered through social policies. It called for a deeper recognition, understanding, consideration, and embedding of corporate welfare in social policy analysis.
Source: Kevin Farnsworth, 'Bringing corporate welfare in', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 42 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
See also:
Sally Ruane, "Bringing corporate welfare in" and pushing further at the boundaries of social policy: a reply to Farnsworth (1)'
Adrian Sinfield, 'On "Bringing corporate welfare in": a reply to Farnsworth (2)'
Date: 2012-Dec
A report examined contemporary public opinion towards the five 'giant evils' identified in the 1942 Beveridge report (squalor, ignorance, want, idleness, and disease). It also sought to identify new 'evils' that society faced, such as how to fund increasingly long retirements, and social care.
Source: Suzanne Hall, 21st Century Welfare: Seventy years since the Beveridge report, Ipsos MORI
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined changes in happiness in European countries in the wake of the global financial crisis. It concluded that a causal relationship between per capita national income and happiness could not be confirmed on the basis of the existing limited data.
Source: Bent Greve, 'The impact of the financial crisis on happiness in affluent European countries', Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, Volume 28 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined whether welfare state typologies persisted when applied to effective redistributive outcomes of welfare states' tax and transfer policies. The established welfare regimes were found to differ in both their welfare state institutions and their economic outcomes. It was possible to identify social-democratic, conservative, liberal, and southern welfare regimes.
Source: Andreas Kammer, Judith Niehues, and Andreas Peichl, 'Welfare regimes and welfare state outcomes in Europe', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A report presented an overview of well-being in the United Kingdom – the first of an annual series. There had been a shift from employment to unemployment since the beginning of the global economic recession, with young people being the worst affected. In 2009-10, 12.3 per cent of people were finding it quite or very difficult to manage financially. In 2011, just over three-quarters (75.9 per cent) of people aged 16 and over rated their overall life satisfaction at the medium or high level. Healthy life expectancy at birth in 2008-2010 was 63.5 years for males and 65.7 for females – increases of 2.8 and 3.3 years respectively since 2000-2002. In 2009-10, 68.3 per cent of people were somewhat, mostly or completely satisfied with their health.
Source: Abigail Self, Jennifer Thomas, and Chris Randall, Measuring National Well-Being: Life in the UK, 2012, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release | Carnegie UK press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Nov
A think-tank report provided an overview of the multiple ways in which the natural environment was being used to deliver key society goals, and how organizations with different missions shared a common interest in having a healthy environment.
Source: Aniol Esteban, Natural Solutions: Nature's role in delivering well-being and key policy goals – Opportunities for the third sector, New Economics Foundation
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that welfare institutions in developed countries conditioned how individual-level factors affected social policy preferences. Institutions that directly altered the risk of unemployment (employment protection legislation) and those that de-linked benefits from the labour market created a more uniform system of social risk that reduced the importance of individual-level risk in shaping policy preferences. Individual risk mattered for social policy preferences only where employment protection was low and welfare benefits were dependent on employment.
Source: Jane Gingrich and Ben Ansell, 'Preferences in context: micro preferences, macro contexts, and the demand for social policy', Comparative Political Studies, Volume 45 Number 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined how and why the issue of measuring quality of life had risen up the European Union's political agenda.
Source: Ian Bache, 'Measuring quality of life for public policy: an idea whose time has come? Agenda-setting dynamics in the European Union', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 20 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that the coalition government should reconsider its proposal to drop the 'environmental equality' sustainable development indicator. The new sustainable development indicators did not do enough to hold the government to account for environmental and economic inequalities.
Source: Measuring Well-Being and Sustainable Development: Sustainable development indicators, Fifth Report (Session 2012–13), HC 667, House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper said that popular regime typologies of welfare states had 'degenerated' as a research programme, notwithstanding their many achievements. The main reason for this lay in a simplistic notion of the relationship between politics and economics in modern society. It outlined an alternative for analyzing welfare provisions and their evolution, giving a systematic account of welfare programme restructuring that undermined regime typologies. It suggested a different question for the political economy of welfare – namely how capitalism and democracy could be kept distinct.
Source: Waltraud Schelkle, Collapsing Worlds and Varieties of Welfare Capitalism: In search of a new political economy of welfare, LEQS Paper 54/2012, London School of Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined whether long-term trends existed in welfare state 'decommodification' in developed (OECD) countries. Most remarkable was the substantial recommodification in most Nordic countries and the Netherlands. The Anglo-Saxon European Union member states – on the other hand – were characterized by increasing welfare state decommodification since the mid-1980s, following a short period of substantial retrenchment in the early 1980s. Overall there were indications of modest convergence, especially among EU countries. High 'benefit decommodification' was consistent with high 'in-work decommodification' – although the longitudinal relationship was less clear.
Source: Olivier Pintelon, Welfare State Decommodification: Concepts, operationalizations and long-term trends, Working Paper 12/10, Centre for Social Policy (Antwerp University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that public social spending had increased to 22 per cent of national income on average across developed (OECD) countries in 2012, up from 19 per cent in 2007. This was due to increased government expenditure on social supports (such as unemployment and income support benefits) combined with stagnating or declining national income in many countries. The United Kingdom, along with Ireland, spent the most on family benefits, at around 4.2 per cent of national income.
Source: Social Spending after the Crisis, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | OECD press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A report presented an analysis of data from the Annual Population Survey on subjective well-being. One of the biggest determinants of well-being was disability. Black and minority-ethnic groups experienced significantly lower well-being than white people. People who were unemployed experienced significantly lower well-being than others. Being retired had a large positive effect on well-being. People living in rural areas had higher well-being than those in urban areas. Areas with high well-being inequality were not necessarily those with high income inequality, and vice versa.
Source: Saamah Abdallah and Sagar Shah, Well-Being Patterns Uncovered: An analysis of UK data, New Economics Foundation
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined the links between changing social policies and welfare concepts with respect to 'citizenship-at-large' (personal, democratic, and social rights) in nine European countries including the United Kingdom. It looked at the ways in which citizenship had changed in key areas such as social security, labour market policies, and social services.
Source: Adalbert Evers and Anne-Marie Guillemard (eds), Social Policy and Citizenship: The changing landscape, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Notes: Chapters included: Ruth Lister, 'Social Citizenship in New Labour's New "Active" Welfare State: The case of the United Kingdom'.
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper said that fundamental change was required in the relationships between communities, families and individuals, and the state if social well-being were to improve. The capacity for communities, families, and individuals to provide mutual support and self-help was the most convincing way to add to well-being. Effective public services could make a valuable contribution, but experience showed that they were not the solution. The role of the state should be to support the capacity of communities, families, and individuals to enhance well-being, in addition to maintaining an underpinning framework of excellent public services.
Source: John Elvidge, The Enabling State – A Discussion Paper, Carnegie UK Trust
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A survey examined the quality of life in European Union countries. Although overall life satisfaction levels had not changed much between 2007 and 2011, optimism about the future and trust in institutions had declined markedly in those countries most affected by the economic downturn. Groups that were already vulnerable long-term unemployed people, older people in central and eastern Europe, and lone parents reported the highest levels of material deprivation and dissatisfaction with their life situation.
Source: Robert Anderson, Hans Dubois, Tadas Leoncikas, and Eszter Sandor, Third European Quality of Life Survey: Quality of life in Europe – Impacts of the crisis, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2012-Nov
A booklet highlighted ways in which social policy related to family life, education, employment, and welfare could have beneficial effects for the overall health of individuals.
Source: Mel Bartley (ed.), Life Gets under Your Skin, UCL Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health
Links: Booklet | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined aspects of the natural environment that were considered important for measuring national well-being.
Source: Jawed Khan and Kahwei Hoo, Measuring National Well-Being – The Natural Environment, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined social reform in Europe over the previous two decades, and the future of the European welfare state in the wake of the financial crisis. The overall scope of social reform across the member states of the European Union varied widely: in some cases welfare state change had been accompanied by deep social conflicts, while in other instances unpopular social reforms had received broad consent from opposition parties, trade unions, and employer organizations. The trajectories of welfare reform in many countries were more pro-active and reconstructive than was often argued in academic research and the media.
Source: Anton Hemerijck, Changing Welfare States, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined to what extent, and how, individuals' welfare state attitudes related to their subjective assessment of the available social support in 25 European countries. The more welfare was provided by the state, the less of it was desired in countries where individuals had the general belief that they could rely on each other for support. Only when considered jointly did welfare state provision and social trust in support availability become essential in explaining welfare state attitudes.
Source: Klarita Gerxhani and Ferry Koster, '"I am not alone": understanding public support for the welfare state', International Sociology, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined the evolving priorities of the British welfare state since its inception in the late 1940s, with an emphasis on how existing and future aims and features of welfare provision compared with the ambitions of its original architects. Contributors explored themes including health, education, housing, gender, disability, and ethnic diversity.
Source: Gideon Calder, Jeremy Gass, and Kirsten Merrill-Glover (eds), Changing Directions of the British Welfare State, University of Wales Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the mechanisms might be responsible for the correlation between countries' welfare efforts and the social capital of their inhabitants, using European data.
Source: John Gelissen, Wim van Oorschot, and Ellen Finsveen, 'How does the welfare state influence individuals social capital?', European Societies, Volume 14 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined aspects of governance considered important for understanding national well-being. It considered information on the involvement in democracy, and trust in how the United Kingdom was run – including statistics on the percentage of registered voters who voted, and trust in parliament and national government.
Source: Chris Randall, Measuring National Well-Being – Governance, 2012, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
A themed section in a journal examined trends within social policy and welfare provision in the light of the re-emerging role of religion.
Source: Social Policy and Society, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links to abstracts:
• Rana Jawad, 'Religion, social welfare and social policy in the UK: historical, theoretical and policy perspectives'
• Christopher Baker, 'Spiritual capital and economies of grace: redefining the relationship between religion and the welfare state'
• Adam Dinham, 'The multi-faith paradigm in policy and practice: problems, challenges, directions'
• Grace Davie, 'A European perspective on religion and welfare: contrasts and commonalities'
• Sheila Furness and Philip Gilligan, 'Faith-based organisations and UK welfare services: exploring some ongoing dilemmas'
• Rana Jawad, 'Thinking about religious welfare and rethinking social policy in the British context'
• Dilwar Hussain, 'Social policy, cultural integration and faith: a Muslim reflection'
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book provided an overview of welfare state research from a political science perspective. Since the early 1990s, European welfare states had undergone substantial changes, in terms of objectives, areas of intervention, and instruments. Traditional programmes had been curtailed (such as old age pensions) while new functions (such as helping non-working people back into employment, and promoting gender equality) had been taken up. The welfare settlement that was emerging at the beginning of the 21st century was very different in terms of functions and instruments from the one inherited from the previous century.
Source: Giuliano Bonoli and David Natali (eds), The Politics of the New Welfare State, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book examined the role of religious values, actors, and institutions in the development of state and non-state social welfare provision. It called for an analytical shift in the definition of well-being through a new concept called 'ways of being': this reflected the moral, ideational, and cultural underpinnings of social welfare.
Source: Rana Jawad, Religion and Faith-Based Welfare: From wellbeing to ways of being, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Sep
A paper examined the evolution of social spending in 21 European Union member states over the period 1985–2007, in order to determine the extent to which its focus had shifted from 'old' to 'new' social risks (with 'old' expenditures representing the core tasks of the welfare state, and 'new' expenditures representing programmes aimed at social risks inherent to a post-industrial society). Although growth of 'new' expenditures had been larger than the growth of 'old' ones, it was not possible to identify a substantial shift in absolute figures. Health and retirement spending remained the main part of social expenditures.
Source: Leen Meeusen and Annemie Nys, Are New Social Risk Expenditures Crowding out the Old?, Working Paper 12/08, Centre for Social Policy (Antwerp University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book examined the impact of better central and local governance on the welfare of children and older people. It said that, on a number of important criteria, the quality of life was superior in other European Union countries to that in the United Kingdom. It was possible to replicate this success in the UK, and failure to do so had been the result of failed political institutions, in particular local government.
Source: John Whitelegg, Quality of Life and Public Management: Redefining development in the local environment, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined how reports of subjective well-being (SWB) differed by mode of survey administration. Using data from the 2011 Annual Population Survey in the United Kingdom, it was found that individuals consistently reported higher SWB over the phone compared with face-to-face interviews. The determinants of SWB also differed significantly by survey mode. It was therefore necessary to account for mode of administration effects in research into SWB and its determinants.
Source: Paul Dolan and Georgios Kavetsos, Happy Talk: Mode of administration effects on subjective well-being, DP1159, Centre for Economic Performance (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined the impact of welfare services, as opposed to cash benefits, on inequality and poverty in European Union countries. Compulsory education and healthcare both reduced inequality and poverty when compared with a hypothetical situation without these publicly provided services. But cash transfers were more pro-poor than in-kind benefits in most countries.
Source: Gerlinde Verbist and Manos Matsaganis, The Redistributive Capacity of Services in the EU, Discussion Paper 53, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined whether welfare states were in terminal decline in the face of a new 'austerity consensus'.
Source: Kevin Farnsworth and Zoe Irving, 'Varieties of crisis, varieties of austerity: social policy in challenging times', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 20 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A new book examined the relationships between well-being and place. Although quantitative – and some policy – approaches treated place as a static backdrop or context, others explored the interrelationships of emotional, social, cultural, and experiential meanings that both shaped place and were shaped by it. Similarly, well-being might be understood as a relatively stable and measurable entity or as a more situation-dependent and relational effect.
Source: Sarah Atkinson, Sara Fuller, and Joe Painter (eds), Wellbeing and Place, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jul
The government published three reports setting out progress in the 'Measuring National Well-Being' programme. It also published a further report (following consultation) setting out the domains and measures that would be henceforth used for assessing well-being.
Source: First ONS Annual Experimental Subjective Well-Being Results, Office for National Statistics | Chris Randall, Measuring National Well-Being: Where We Live – 2012, Office for National Statistics | Jen Beaumont and Jennifer Thomas, Measuring National Well-Being: Health, Office for National Statistics | Measuring National Well-Being: Summary of Proposed Domains and Measures, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Report (3) | Report (4) | ONS press release | Young Foundation press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report examined the relationship between education and well-being. It said that higher levels of qualifications and continued formal and informal learning were associated with greater individual subjective well-being.
Source: Measuring National Well-Being – Education and Skills, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release | ATL press release | RSS press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that the European welfare state was in a state of crisis. The driving forces and conceptual framework that led to the growth of the European welfare state were becoming obsolete.
Source: Roland Poirier Martinsson, 'The demise of the driving forces behind the liberal and social democratic welfare state', European View, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that the 'criminalizing' tendency in contemporary social policy was actually part of the normal working of western welfare systems. In the face of largely uncontrollable global economic processes, the governance of society was increasingly focused on the management of people's behaviour. The author discussed the implications for the relationships between the welfare system, the criminal justice system, and civil society.
Source: John Rodger, '"Regulating the poor": observations on the "structural coupling" of welfare, criminal justice and the voluntary sector in a "Big Society"', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 46 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper examined the link between income and happiness in developed (OECD) countries. In countries with comparatively low income levels, average per capita income had a significantly positive leverage on the mean reported happiness. In countries with comparatively high income levels, by contrast, the link between per capita incomes and subjective happiness scores was not significant.
Source: Barbara Dluhosch, Daniel Horgos, and Klaus Zimmermann, Explaining the Income-Distribution Puzzle in Happiness Research: Theory and evidence, Working Paper 117, Department of Economics, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg – University FAF Hamburg
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book examined the development of political cultural processes in Europe, highlighting the way in which social protection and social justice had gradually became interwoven with systems of social protection, or welfare states. It showed how sociological and ethnographic analysis could help in understanding the existing and future challenges of European integration.
Source: Jean-Claude Barbier, The Road to Social Europe: A contemporary approach to political cultures and diversity in Europe, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined whether the global financial and economic crisis had brought about changes in the quality of life of citizens of the European Union. On the whole, the crisis had led to a decline in quality of life. This was more apparent for those living in countries most affected by the crisis. Vulnerable groups such as those who were unemployed, elderly or retired, as well as people suffering financial difficulties, had experienced a considerable drop in their well-being.
Source: Branislav Mikulic, Eszter Sandor, and Tadas Leoncikas, Experiencing the Economic Crisis in the EU: Changes in living standards, deprivation and trust, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report said that society needed to improve its capacity to prevent harm in order to improve people s quality of life, make better use of public money, reduce the need for costly state services, and help to safeguard the future. Examples of preventive action included:
• Tackling the underlying causes of poverty, unemployment, ill-health, illiteracy, and homelessness; reducing crime and social conflict, insecurity, and distrust; and cutting the need for hospitals, prisons, and income support.
• Cutting greenhouse gas emissions and the risks of climate change, safeguarding natural resources, and stopping pollution of air, land, and water.
Regulating financial institutions to prevent speculation, investing in good jobs and renewable energy, taxing polluters, and discouraging carbon-intensive production.
Source: Anna Coote, The Wisdom of Prevention: Long-term planning, upstream investment and early action to prevent harm, New Economics Foundation
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the origins and development of the 'social investment strategy' by European welfare states. The strategy was characterized by a move away from passive transfers and towards the maximization of employability and employment: but there were significant national distinctions and regime-specific trajectories. The authors examined whether the new policy paradigm had been established at the expense of social policies that mitigated poverty and inequality.
Source: Kees Van Kersbergen and Anton Hemerijck, 'Two decades of change in Europe: the emergence of the social investment state', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the increasing power of global cities that acted as co-ordinating hubs for the global economy. Though residing in nation states, these cities had a special status flowing from their central role in the global economy. Little attempt had been made to explore the implications of these cities for welfare regimes and welfare regime analysis. There were strong overlaps between global city types and welfare types.
Source: John Hudson, 'Welfare regimes and global cities: a missing link in the comparative analysis of welfare states?', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the psychology behind the 'fetishization' of profit in modern society. It highlighted the threat that neo-liberalism posed to public services, and put forward the case for a return to a more socialistic consciousness.
Source: Stuart Sim, Addicted to Profit: Reclaiming our lives from the free market, Edinburgh University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A new book said that the future of the welfare state in Europe looked increasingly uncertain in an age of government-imposed austerity, and after 30 years of neo-liberal restructuring. It identified the most important challenges, and presented practical proposals for combating the assault on welfare. The welfare state should be seen as the result of a class compromise forged in the 20th century, which meant that it could not easily be exported internationally. It was now going through a paradigm shift, illustrated by the shift from welfare to workfare, and increased top-down control.
Source: Asbjorn Wahl, The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State, Pluto Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined how European citizens perceived the consequences of the welfare state; whether perceived positive consequences outweighed the negative consequences; and to the extent to which perceptions of consequences were determined by individual and country-level factors. The European public had a clearer eye for the positive social consequences than for negative economic and moral ones. Moreover, at the individual level these perceptions were mainly influenced by ideational factors, while they were affected by welfare state generosity at the country level. In more developed welfare states the public perceived the negative, as well as the positive, consequences more strongly.
Source: Wim van Oorschot, Tim Reeskens, and Bart Meuleman, 'Popular perceptions of welfare state consequences: a multilevel, cross-national analysis of 25 European countries', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
The first results were published of a new 'Humankind Index' for Scotland, designed to measure prosperity through a wider set of indicators than simple Gross Domestic Product. The index involved a weighted set of elements ('sub-domains') that people had reported as being the most important influences on their ability to live well:
• An affordable, decent, and safe home.
• Good physical and mental health.
• Living in a neighbourhood where people could enjoy going outside, and having a clean and healthy environment.
• Having satisfying work to do (whether paid or unpaid).
• Having good relationships with family and friends.
• Feeling that close friends and relatives were safe.
• Access to green and wild spaces, and to community spaces and play areas.
Between 2007-08 and 2009-10 Scotland's prosperity had increased by 1.2 per cent, according to the index. Deprived areas had a measured prosperity (in terms of index points) 10 per cent below the figure for Scotland as a whole, coming off worse on 12 of 15 sub-domains. The major disparities were in terms of whether people were able to enjoy going outside and having a clean and healthy environment; access to green spaces and play areas; and safety. These three areas accounted for just over 40 per cent of the difference between deprived communities and Scotland as a whole.
Source: Stewart Dunlop and Katherine Trebeck (with Kim Swales and Jennifer Glinski), The Oxfam Humankind Index for Scotland: First Results, Oxfam Scotland
Links: Report | Summary | Methodology
Date: 2012-May
An article re-examined the distinction (made by Robert Pinker) between the heuristic and normative dimensions of welfare in social policy studies.
Source: John Offer, 'Robert Pinker, the idea of welfare and the study of social policy: on unitarism and pluralism', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the extent to which European Union citizens supported three dimensions of welfare state values – developed role of state, equal opportunities, and equal outcomes – and whether national level institutions and social policies could explain cross-national variation in these values. Two different mechanisms were distinguished: that institutions could have a norm-shaping function and thus were associated with stronger public support; or that the public opinion could function as a thermostat if there was dissatisfaction with the existing institutions. There was empirical evidence for both mechanisms.
Source: Ferry Koster and Monika-Ewa Kaminska, 'Welfare state values in the European Union, 2002-2008: a multilevel investigation of formal institutions and individual attitudes', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 19 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined how social welfare organizations 'medicalized' their environment – 'solving' social problems by viewing and treating them as medical problems.
Source: Mikael Holmqvist, The Institutionalization of Social Welfare: A study of medicalizing management, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A report examined levels of happiness in each country of the world. The happiest countries were all in northern Europe (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Netherlands). Happier countries tend to be richer countries. But more important for happiness than income were social factors such as the strength of social support, the absence of corruption, and the degree of personal freedom. Over time as living standards had risen, happiness had increased in some countries – but not in others (for example, the United States). Unemployment causes as much unhappiness as bereavement or separation. At work, job security and good relationships did more for job satisfaction than high pay and convenient hours.
Source: World Happiness Report, Earth Institute
Links: Report | Earth Institute press release
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined European capitalist welfare societies, focusing on the questions of sustainability and the financing of social rights. Setting out a new conceptual framework that integrated an adapted version of the theory of instituted economic processes with the changing structuration of the life course in European countries, the authors said that European capitalist welfare societies were not sustainable in their existing form, and that the future financing of social rights was conditional on substantial transformations.
Source: Patricia Frericks and Robert Maier, European Capitalist Welfare Societies: The Challenge of Sustainability, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined the potential of applying the political science theory of welfare state types to contract law in Europe.
Source: Jacobien Rutgers (ed.), European Contract Law and the Welfare State, Europa Law Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A think-tank paper said that the causal links between economic growth and income, and between income and well-being and opportunity, had broken down. As a result, policy should focus on the well-being and choice of existing and future generations. Rather than being directed at maximizing national income, policy should seek the highest level of well-being and choice for the existing population that was compatible with offering at least the same level of well-being and choice to future generations.
Source: Amna Silim, Wellbeing, Choice and Sustainability: What should economic policy target in a new era economy?, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined aspects of households and families that were considered to be significant in the production of official measures of national well-being. It looked first at family and household formation, and then at individual aspects of these such as marriage and divorce.
Source: Ian Macrory, Measuring National Well-Being: Households and Families, 2012, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A think-tank report examined the state of knowledge on well-being. Well-being equations constructed using data from the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Europe revealed a range of different effect sizes. However, there appeared to be some consistency in the factors associated with the largest effect sizes: these were being unemployed (negative), being married (positive), being divorced or separated (negative), having good health (positive), and being in the highest income quartile (positive).
Source: Laura Stoll, Juliet Michaelson, and Charles Seaford, Well-Being Evidence for Policy: A Review, New Economics Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the use of measures of subjective well-being – ratings of thoughts and feelings about life – for monitoring social progress and for informing and appraising public policy. It provided some concrete recommendations about precisely what questions should be asked in large-scale surveys.
Source: Paul Dolan and Robert Metcalfe, 'Measuring subjective wellbeing: recommendations on measures for use by national governments', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper compared the three main systems of welfare capitalism (Beveridgean, Bismarckian, and Liberal) from both a positive and a normative perspective. It introduced a new way to model a Bismarckian type of social insurance to account for the fact that this system allowed intra-group horizontal redistribution.
Source: Sarah Brockhoff, Stephane Rossignol, and Emmanuelle Taugourdeau, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism Revisited, Working Paper 2012.18, Centre d Economie de la Sorbonne (Paris)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined evidence of adaptation in well-being to major life events, using 18 waves of panel data. Adaptation to marriage, divorce, birth of a child, and widowhood appeared to be rapid and complete, whereas this was not the case for unemployment.
Source: Andrew Clark and Yannis Georgellis, Back to Baseline in Britain: Adaptation in the BHPS, Discussion Paper 6426, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book used data from the European Social Survey to examine public attitudes to the welfare state, focusing on the issues of solidarity, social cohesion, and social capital.
Source: Heikki Ervasti, Jorgen Andersen, Torben Fridberg, and Kristen Ringdal (eds.), The Future of the Welfare State: Social policy attitudes and social capital in Europe, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined the effects of macroeconomic performance and institutional quality on average levels of self-assessed well-being in European Union countries between 2004 and 2011. Variations in national levels of life satisfaction could largely be accounted for by a small number of socio-economic indicators. Life satisfaction was lowest in poor, corrupt countries where income inequality was pronounced. The adverse effect of higher unemployment on life satisfaction was partially offset by the positive impact of lower inflation. However, even when these factors were allowed for, significant country-level differences persisted.
Source: Brendan Walsh, The Influence of Macroeconomic Conditions and Institutional Quality on National Levels of Life Satisfaction, Working Paper 12/08, Centre for Economic Research (University College Dublin)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the short-term effects of social spending on economic activity, using data for developed (OECD) countries from 1980 to 2005. An increase of 1 per cent in social spending increased national income by about 0.1 percentage points. The effect was similar to that of total government spending, and was larger in periods of severe downturns. Among spending subcategories, social spending on health and on unemployment benefits had the greatest effects.
Source: Davide Furceri and Aleksandra Zdzienicka, 'The effects of social spending on economic activity: empirical evidence from a panel of OECD countries', Fiscal Studies, Volume 33 Issue 1, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined new ways for European policy-makers and institutions to make social security systems (broadly defined) more sustainable in the face of long-term demographic trends and increased global competition. It investigated ways to achieve short- and long-term financial viability, as well as the key mechanisms that helped to achieve social cohesion, such as greater emphasis on social rights and social dialogue. It considered the main policy issues in sustaining programmes such as healthcare, social assistance and family benefits, pensions, unemployment and work incapacity benefits, and long-term care.
Source: Wouter van Ginneken, Sustaining European Social Security Systems in a Globalised Economy, Council of Europe
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined whether the goals of improving well-being and sustainability were compatible. It put forward a clearer conceptual framework for policy-makers regarding different well-being 'constructs', designed to facilitate more transparent discussions. It advocated a 'trade off' approach between the two goals, based on debating values.
Source: Karen Scott, Measuring Wellbeing: Towards Sustainability?, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined the impact of the global economic crisis on models of economic governance in a range of European countries (including a chapter on the United Kingdom). The authors considered the implications for public spending, the welfare state, and labour markets.
Source: Steffen Lehndorff (ed.), A Triumph of Failed Ideas: European models of capitalism in the crisis, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Feb
A report reviewed the concept of subjective well-being, why it should be measured, what relevant questions were already being asked on major social surveys, and the potential uses of the data collected. It concluded that subjective well-being was a 'valid construct' that could be measured reliably.
Source: Analysis of Experimental Subjective Wellbeing Data from the Annual Population Survey, April to September 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined one of the domains considered as important for the official measurement of national well-being – close family relationships. Adults aged 16 and over with higher levels of satisfaction with their personal relationships tended to have higher levels of overall life satisfaction.
Source: Chris Randall, Measuring National Well-Being – Our Relationships – 2012, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper presented measures of subjective well-being in England using a specially designed module of the 2010 Health Survey for England. It looked at the relationship between well-being and labour market status; and, among those who were working, considered how well-being was associated with aspects of job quality.
Source: Alex Bryson, Francis Green, Sally Bridges, and Rachel Craig, Well-Being, Health and Work, Discussion Paper 387, National Institute for Economic and Social Research
Links: Discussion paper
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the way in which the role of the state had evolved within different aspects of welfare activity since 1979, and the possible impacts of the coalition government's plans for changing that role through reform and fiscal retrenchment. Experience suggested that the coalition government's initial ambitions for radically transforming the overall structure of public-private boundaries might be hard to realize.
Source: John Hills, 'The changing architecture of the UK welfare state', Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined the shifting balance between state and societal intervention in people's lives. The post-war decades of prosperity and increased public expenditure on the comprehensive provision of public welfare services to all citizens had gone into reverse from the 1970s. The capacity to satisfy the demand for socially protective public services had declined, along with the will to impose the redistributive taxation to pay for them.
Source: James Connelly and Jack Hayward (eds.), The Withering of the Welfare State: Regression, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
A think-tank report said that attempts to centrally direct policy towards improving general well-being would fail – and that, in any case, happiness was related to income and not to other factors such as equality or well-being at work.
Source: Philip Booth (ed.), and the Pursuit of Happiness: Wellbeing and the role of government, Institute of Economic Affairs
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined changes in workers psycho-social hazard exposures, work-related stress, and stress-related absence associated with the onset of a severe economic recession.
Source: Jonathan Houdmont, Robert Kerr, and Ken Addley, 'Psychosocial factors and economic recession: the Stormont Study', Occupational Medicine, Volume 62 Issue 2
Links: Abstract | Nottingham University press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined whether differences between welfare regimes in advanced countries could manifest diverse consequences for the health effects of insecure and precarious employment. Precarious workers in Scandinavian welfare states were found to report better or equal health status when compared with their permanent counterparts. By contrast, precarious work in the remaining welfare state regimes was found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, including poor self-rated health, musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, and mental health problems.
Source: Il-Ho Kim, Carles Muntaner, Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Alejandra Vives, Christophe Vanroelen, and Joan Benach , 'Welfare states, flexible employment, and health: a critical review', Health Policy, Volume 104 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report provided a brief summary of initial findings from responses to a consultation on proposed domains and measures of national well-being.
Source: Abigail Self and Jen Beaumont, Initial Findings from the Consultation on Proposed Domains and Measures of National Well-Being, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined why similar industrialized market economies had developed such varying systems for social protection. It highlighted the importance of trustworthy, impartial, and uncorrupted government institutions as a precondition for citizens' willingness to support policies for social insurance.
Source: Bo Rothstein, Marcus Samanni, and Jan Teorell, 'Explaining the welfare state: power resources vs. the Quality of Government', European Political Science Review, Volume 4 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the extent of welfare state tendencies towards individualization of social citizenship rights in Europe. Individualization processes had transformed modern west European societies through the construction of self-sufficiency, the individualization of responsibility, and the personalization of social services.
Source: Minna van Gerven and Marinus Ossewaarde, 'The welfare state's making of cosmopolitan Europe: individualization of social rights as European integration', European Societies, Volume 14 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the link between competitiveness and a variety of measures of well-being at a place-based level. Economic development, social cohesion, welfare and environmental policies needed to became better integrated if they were to build sustainable places: but existing policy frameworks often ran counter to this approach.
Source: Robert Huggins and Piers Thompson, 'Well-being and competitiveness: are the two linked at a place-based level?', Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Volume 5 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report highlighted the growing body of evidence that GDP (national income) alone could not measure all aspects of human development in European countries, and did not account for social costs. It evaluated alternative indicators to GDP methods to measure well-being, such as life expectancy and rates of disease.
Source: A Post-GDP Critique of the Europe 2020 Strategy, European Public Health Alliance
Links: Report | EPHA press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the efficiency with which individual resources were converted into well-being, using data from the British Household Panel Survey. Over the period 1991-2006, between 24 and 29 per cent of individuals were efficient in their conversion of resources into well-being. Age and self-employment increased an individual's conversion efficiency – whereas living in London, being disabled, and being separated/divorced/widowed all decreased it. Being married also decreased conversion efficiency. There was little evidence of gender disparities.
Source: Martin Binder and Tom Broekel, 'The neglected dimension of well-being: analyzing the development of conversion efficiency in Great Britain', Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 41 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the evolving ways in which the national accounts were, or could be, used to inform and assist in key areas of concern to governments and their citizens. It considered how distributionally adjusted national accounts could be used to provide evidence not just about the material prosperity of a society in aggregate but about trends in material well-being across the income distribution. It also examined the use of the accounts in the measurement of national well-being.
Source: Joe Grice, 'National accounts, wellbeing, and the performance of government', Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined well-being, focusing on the interplay between social, community, and individual well-being. Interventions to enhance well-being needed to recognize diversity and socio-economic inequalities in society.
Source: John Haworth and Graham Hart (eds.), Well-Being: Individual, Community and Social Perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the effects of the global financial crisis on welfare states around the world. One chapter compared reactive policy strategies in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
Source: Bent Greve (ed.), The Times They Are Changing? Crisis and the welfare state, Wiley
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the size, uses, and importance of 'corporate welfare' – government programmes designed to meet the needs of business – across various welfare regimes in developed (OECD) countries.
Source: Kevin Farnsworth, Social Versus Corporate Welfare: Competing needs and interests within the welfare state, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the development of happiness as an explicit theme in social research and policy. It said that progressive policies required a 'substantial and explicit' consideration of happiness.
Source: Neil Thin, Social Happiness: Theory into policy and practice, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A paper examined the balance between private and public sectors in welfare activity over the period 1979-2007 across five different sectors: education, health, housing, income maintenance and social security, and personal social services. There had been a gradual increase in the proportion of welfare activity that was privately financed, controlled, and delivered.
Source: Daniel Edmiston, The Shifting Balance of Private and Public Welfare Activity in the United Kingdom, 1979 to 2007, CASEpaper 155, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined change and continuity in recent social policy, contrasting the 'liberal collectivist' approach of New Labour with the 'reinforced neoliberalism' of the coalition government. Under the latter, the United Kingdom was witnessing a withdrawal of the state, a redrawing or abolition of minimum standards, and failures to meet changing patterns of social needs – combined with 'obtuse' pronouncements about the 'Big Society'.
Source: Damian Grimshaw and Jill Rubery, 'The end of the UK s liberal collectivist social model? The implications of the coalition government s policy during the austerity crisis', Cambridge Journal of Economics, Volume 36 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the concept of social quality and its core components – socio-economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion, and social empowerment. It applied the concept of social quality to some of the most pressing policy challenges, including the future of the European Union and sustainability.
Source: Laurent Van Der Maesen and Alan Walker (eds.), Social Quality: From theory to indicators, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined approaches to defining and promoting a 'good society' from alternative perspectives, including Marxism and feminism. It considered methodological principles and alternative socio-economic models that could contribute to the design of strategies for building a better world.
Source: John Marangos (ed.), Alternative Perspectives of a Good Society, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A paper examined well-being in developed (OECD) countries based on self-reported life satisfaction surveys. Levels of income, state of health, not being unemployed, and social relationships were particularly important for well-being, with only some differences across countries.
Source: Sarah Fleche, Conal Smith, and Piritta Sorsa, Exploring Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing in OECD Countries: Evidence from the World Value Survey, Economics Department Working Paper 921, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
A paper examined the most recent interpretation of 'social investment' adopted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Initial formulations could be seen as an example of inclusive liberalism: since then, however, the OECD had begun to embrace important elements of a social democratic version, including a concern with gender equality.
Source: Rianne Mahon, Social Investment According to the OECD/DELSA: A discourse in the making, Welfare Societies Working Paper 03/2012, University of Bremen (Germany)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined how levels of well-being within families were affected when other family members had a chronic illness.
Source: Cara Booker and Amanda Sacker, 'Limiting long-term illness and subjective well-being in families', Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Volume 3 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan