Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2002): Welfare State - Overseas

A DUTCH MIRACLE FOR WOMEN?

M. Kremer

Social Politics, vol. 8, 2001, p. 182-185

Dutch welfare state retrenchment, wage freezes and the promotion of part-time work to raise levels of participation of women in the labour market have led to economic prosperity combined with poor quality public services. Consumer demands for higher quality state welfare services are now being heard.

EVERYONE IS STILL ON WELFARE: THE ROLE OF REDISTRIBUTION IN SOCIAL POLICY

M. Abramovitz

Social Work, vol. 46, 2001, p. 297-308

Article analyses who benefits from and who pays for social, fiscal and corporate welfare provision in the US. Concludes that all three welfare systems continue to serve and favour the middle class, wealthy households and large corporations.

LIBERAL JUSTICE AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING

J. J. Josephson

New Political Science, vol. 23, 2001, p. 289-406

Argues that poverty needs to be seen as a collective problem with structural and institutional roots rather than as a result of feckless individual behaviour. Proposes approaching poverty as a human rights issue, and regarding the failure of the US to provide basic subsistence for all its citizens as a human rights violation.

NORWAY: RELEVANCE OF THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR POST-WAR WELFARE POLICY

E. Dahl et al

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol. 10, 2001, p. 300-308

Article examines social policy in Post-war Norway and the extent to which it fits three features of the social development model: productivism, social investment and universalism. It concludes by looking at how these apply now to the mature Norwegian welfare state.

SINGAPORE: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING AND THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND

S. Vasoo and J. Lee

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol. 10, 2001, p. 276-283

Article examines social security and housing policies in Singapore and shows how these are part of a wide commitment to economic development. It suggests that Singapore successfully harmonises economic and social objectives.

SOCIAL POLICY, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WELFARE

J. Midgley and K. Tang

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol. 10, 2001, p. 244-252

Article explores the idea of development welfare as a notion rooted in vintage beliefs about 'social progress', the desirability of change and the prospect of social improvement. It examines the theory and practice of development welfare looking at the ideas of investing in human capital; employment and self employment; social capital formation and asset development; removing barriers to economic participation; and investing in cost-effective social programmes.

STILL FRIENDLY: DANISH WOMEN AND WELFARE STATE RESTRUCTURING

A. Borchorst

Social Politics, vol. 8, 2001, p. 203-205

Denmark has largely resisted pressure to restructure its welfare state. However social assistance and unemployment benefits have become more proactive, and various types of leave schemes were introduced in 1993 to promote the integration of the unemployed into the labour force.

WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE: WELFARE STATE EXPANSION AND DEVOLUTION IN JAPAN

I. Peng

Social Politics, vol. 8, 2001, p. 191-196

The expansion of state welfare provision in Japan in the 1990s was driven by a change in gender relations and demographic patterns. This has been coupled with a shift of social welfare responsibilities from central to local government, combined with encouragement of private sector provision through deregulation.