Pub Date : 2022-09-26DOI: 10.1177/09589287221115657
Anne-Marie Parth, Tim Vlandas
How do welfare state policies affect the political support for environmental action of economically vulnerable social groups? Two competing hypotheses can be delineated. On the one hand, a synergy logic would imply that welfare state generosity is associated with higher support for environmental action among economically vulnerable groups due to the insecurity reducing effects of the welfare state. On the other hand, a crowding-out logic would suggest that welfare state generosity is associated with lower support for other policy priorities like environmental action. We test these two hypotheses using 2019 Eurobarometer survey data and country-level indicators of welfare state generosity in 22 European countries. We find that the working class and the elderly are particularly opposed to individual and national environmental action and that the welfare state plays a complex moderating role. Consistent with a synergy logic, welfare state generosity increases pro-environmental behaviour among the working class, but its association with more positive attitudes towards national environmental policies is less strong. Consistent with a crowding-out logic, the elderly appear less likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways if retirement benefits are high. To explore the mechanisms behind this association, we show that the working class who struggle to pay their bills are most opposed to environmental action. Overall, economic insecurities are key obstacles for support of environmental actions and the effects of the welfare state depend both on which social group is concerned and whether individual behaviour versus policy preferences are considered.
{"title":"The welfare state and support for environmental action in Europe","authors":"Anne-Marie Parth, Tim Vlandas","doi":"10.1177/09589287221115657","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221115657","url":null,"abstract":"How do welfare state policies affect the political support for environmental action of economically vulnerable social groups? Two competing hypotheses can be delineated. On the one hand, a synergy logic would imply that welfare state generosity is associated with higher support for environmental action among economically vulnerable groups due to the insecurity reducing effects of the welfare state. On the other hand, a crowding-out logic would suggest that welfare state generosity is associated with lower support for other policy priorities like environmental action. We test these two hypotheses using 2019 Eurobarometer survey data and country-level indicators of welfare state generosity in 22 European countries. We find that the working class and the elderly are particularly opposed to individual and national environmental action and that the welfare state plays a complex moderating role. Consistent with a synergy logic, welfare state generosity increases pro-environmental behaviour among the working class, but its association with more positive attitudes towards national environmental policies is less strong. Consistent with a crowding-out logic, the elderly appear less likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways if retirement benefits are high. To explore the mechanisms behind this association, we show that the working class who struggle to pay their bills are most opposed to environmental action. Overall, economic insecurities are key obstacles for support of environmental actions and the effects of the welfare state depend both on which social group is concerned and whether individual behaviour versus policy preferences are considered.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"531 - 547"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65305959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-03DOI: 10.1177/09589287221115668
Ariane Bertogg
This study investigates how institutional and normative characteristics affect grandparents’ labour market participation. Previous studies indicate that providing regular grandchild care reduces labour market participation, and this linkage varies between European welfare states. Yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and no study has systematically disentangled cultural from institutional influence when investigating grandparents’ work–care reconciliation. Based on two mechanisms, needs and obligations, we investigate how (grandparental) support norms and childcare infrastructure jointly shape the labour market participation of active grandparents. We use six waves from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), investigating variation across 91 subnational regions in 18 countries. The results indicate that the regular provision of grandchild care increases the risk of exiting the labour market for both men and women. This linkage is stronger in contexts with stronger support norms, but also depends on the childcare infrastructure in contexts where norms are weaker.
{"title":"Needs or obligations? The influence of childcare infrastructure and support norms on grandparents’ labour market participation","authors":"Ariane Bertogg","doi":"10.1177/09589287221115668","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221115668","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates how institutional and normative characteristics affect grandparents’ labour market participation. Previous studies indicate that providing regular grandchild care reduces labour market participation, and this linkage varies between European welfare states. Yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and no study has systematically disentangled cultural from institutional influence when investigating grandparents’ work–care reconciliation. Based on two mechanisms, needs and obligations, we investigate how (grandparental) support norms and childcare infrastructure jointly shape the labour market participation of active grandparents. We use six waves from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), investigating variation across 91 subnational regions in 18 countries. The results indicate that the regular provision of grandchild care increases the risk of exiting the labour market for both men and women. This linkage is stronger in contexts with stronger support norms, but also depends on the childcare infrastructure in contexts where norms are weaker.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"33 1","pages":"17 - 33"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45785103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-03DOI: 10.1177/09589287221115669
E. Verbakel, K. Glaser, Yasmina Amzour, M. Brandt, M. B. V. van Groenou
Many countries have been working on revising their long-term care (LTC) policies to meet the increasing demand for care. Generally, little attention is paid to the potential (unintended) consequences of LTC policies for inequality among care users or informal caregivers. Saraceno previously explicitly argued that differences in care use and provision depend on the type of LTC policy, and that policies with contrasting consequences for inequality can be implemented at the same time. We call upon future research to empirically test the impact of different types of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care. To stimulate and facilitate such research, our aims are to outline theoretical arguments for the differential impact of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care and to create macro-level indicators for different types of supportive LTC policies in European countries over time. Our study’s research question is: Can we find and capture different dimensions of LTC policies in macro-level indicators that are comparable over countries and time? In particular, we focus on supported familialism (for example, informal caregiver support), supported defamilialization through the market (for example, in-cash benefits for care users), and defamilialization through public provision (for example, availability of beds in residential care). Besides a summary of the literature on LTC policies and how they may affect socio-economic inequalities in care, we outline our search process for macro-level LTC indicators and present descriptive information on the different types of LTC policies and their correlations. We discuss the difficulties that arise when translating theoretical insights about different types of LTC policies into high-quality measures for many countries and time points.
{"title":"Indicators of familialism and defamilialization in long-term care: A theoretical overview and introduction of macro-level indicators","authors":"E. Verbakel, K. Glaser, Yasmina Amzour, M. Brandt, M. B. V. van Groenou","doi":"10.1177/09589287221115669","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221115669","url":null,"abstract":"Many countries have been working on revising their long-term care (LTC) policies to meet the increasing demand for care. Generally, little attention is paid to the potential (unintended) consequences of LTC policies for inequality among care users or informal caregivers. Saraceno previously explicitly argued that differences in care use and provision depend on the type of LTC policy, and that policies with contrasting consequences for inequality can be implemented at the same time. We call upon future research to empirically test the impact of different types of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care. To stimulate and facilitate such research, our aims are to outline theoretical arguments for the differential impact of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care and to create macro-level indicators for different types of supportive LTC policies in European countries over time. Our study’s research question is: Can we find and capture different dimensions of LTC policies in macro-level indicators that are comparable over countries and time? In particular, we focus on supported familialism (for example, informal caregiver support), supported defamilialization through the market (for example, in-cash benefits for care users), and defamilialization through public provision (for example, availability of beds in residential care). Besides a summary of the literature on LTC policies and how they may affect socio-economic inequalities in care, we outline our search process for macro-level LTC indicators and present descriptive information on the different types of LTC policies and their correlations. We discuss the difficulties that arise when translating theoretical insights about different types of LTC policies into high-quality measures for many countries and time points.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"33 1","pages":"34 - 51"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44001680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-03DOI: 10.1177/09589287221115670
Patricia Frericks, Martin Gurín
Redistribution is one of the main characteristics of the welfare state, and welfare state research has dealt intensely with various facets of it. The main focus in analysing redistribution is on the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of work-related rights. Family as a major principle of welfare state redistribution, though, has hardly been included in these welfare state analyses. It has mainly been addressed by analysing outcome data or by analysing care as the most relevant characteristic of the family. We argue, though, that comparative welfare state analysis that addresses differences in welfare state intended redistribution needs to also include family as a redistributive principle to gain a more complete picture of societal redistribution. In this study, we are analysing the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of family. We answer the question of how and in how far welfare states institutionalize family as a redistributive principle. We examine by means of the tax–benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD and its Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT) welfare state regulations on family for three countries that are generally classed as different regime types. We differentiate between a great variety of family forms (referring to marital status, children and different forms of couples’ income distribution) to adequately test our theoretical assumptions. The findings show that family is a major redistributive principle of the welfare states analysed here and applied in different redistributive logics to the various family forms. This, then, results in an increase in income for certain family forms and a decrease in income for other family forms. These differences are not the result of one coherent set of regulations, but of an interplay of in part contradictory regulations that reflect a great variety of family-related redistributive logics within the single countries. Thus our study provides new insights into the redistributive logics of welfare states, and may contribute to the analysis of welfare state complexity in terms of theory, methodology and empirics.
{"title":"Family as a redistributive principle of welfare states: An international comparison","authors":"Patricia Frericks, Martin Gurín","doi":"10.1177/09589287221115670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221115670","url":null,"abstract":"Redistribution is one of the main characteristics of the welfare state, and welfare state research has dealt intensely with various facets of it. The main focus in analysing redistribution is on the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of work-related rights. Family as a major principle of welfare state redistribution, though, has hardly been included in these welfare state analyses. It has mainly been addressed by analysing outcome data or by analysing care as the most relevant characteristic of the family. We argue, though, that comparative welfare state analysis that addresses differences in welfare state intended redistribution needs to also include family as a redistributive principle to gain a more complete picture of societal redistribution. In this study, we are analysing the redistributive logics of welfare states in terms of family. We answer the question of how and in how far welfare states institutionalize family as a redistributive principle. We examine by means of the tax–benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD and its Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT) welfare state regulations on family for three countries that are generally classed as different regime types. We differentiate between a great variety of family forms (referring to marital status, children and different forms of couples’ income distribution) to adequately test our theoretical assumptions. The findings show that family is a major redistributive principle of the welfare states analysed here and applied in different redistributive logics to the various family forms. This, then, results in an increase in income for certain family forms and a decrease in income for other family forms. These differences are not the result of one coherent set of regulations, but of an interplay of in part contradictory regulations that reflect a great variety of family-related redistributive logics within the single countries. Thus our study provides new insights into the redistributive logics of welfare states, and may contribute to the analysis of welfare state complexity in terms of theory, methodology and empirics.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"33 1","pages":"52 - 66"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42279010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-20DOI: 10.1177/09589287221106969
Jonathan P. Latner, Nicole Saks
In Europe, the consequences of temporary employment are at the centre of a social policy debate about whether there is a trade-off between efficiency and equity when deregulating labour markets. However, despite decades of research, there is confusion about the consequences of temporary employment on wage and career mobility. It is often stated that the consequences are ‘mixed’. We review the literature with a focus on synthesizing the evidence and analysing the theories. Our review shows that we know a lot more than is often understood about the consequences of temporary employment on wage and career mobility. We create clarity by organizing the evidence by geographic region, demographic group and reference group. While outcomes vary across these factors, there is less variation within these factors. At the same time, we know a lot less than is often understood about the mechanisms through which temporary employment affects mobility. Some common theories are not well specified in their application to temporary employment. We create new opportunities for development in the field by increasing the scope of the debate about some questions and decreasing the scope of the debate about other questions.
{"title":"The wage and career consequences of temporary employment in Europe: Analysing the theories and synthesizing the evidence","authors":"Jonathan P. Latner, Nicole Saks","doi":"10.1177/09589287221106969","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221106969","url":null,"abstract":"In Europe, the consequences of temporary employment are at the centre of a social policy debate about whether there is a trade-off between efficiency and equity when deregulating labour markets. However, despite decades of research, there is confusion about the consequences of temporary employment on wage and career mobility. It is often stated that the consequences are ‘mixed’. We review the literature with a focus on synthesizing the evidence and analysing the theories. Our review shows that we know a lot more than is often understood about the consequences of temporary employment on wage and career mobility. We create clarity by organizing the evidence by geographic region, demographic group and reference group. While outcomes vary across these factors, there is less variation within these factors. At the same time, we know a lot less than is often understood about the mechanisms through which temporary employment affects mobility. Some common theories are not well specified in their application to temporary employment. We create new opportunities for development in the field by increasing the scope of the debate about some questions and decreasing the scope of the debate about other questions.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"514 - 530"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65305947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-01DOI: 10.1177/09589287221080700
M. Pezer
Public policies supporting families with children differ among countries but with the same goal of improving the well-being of children. Using a microsimulation model, this article assesses the cash support which families receive for their children in Croatia, Greece, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The impact of policies across the income distribution on different family sizes, child-rearing cost compensation and child poverty is estimated. A method for the calculation of child-contingent payments for each child by order of birth in the family is proposed as a complementary indicator of policy design. The results confirm that a combination of universal and targeted support (either from family or social assistance benefits) is the most effective in poverty reduction and cost compensation. While high support for larger families greatly reduces poverty, generous universal or even lower support for large families has proved to be at least equally effective.
{"title":"Public policies supporting families with children across welfare regimes: An empirical assessment of six European countries","authors":"M. Pezer","doi":"10.1177/09589287221080700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221080700","url":null,"abstract":"Public policies supporting families with children differ among countries but with the same goal of improving the well-being of children. Using a microsimulation model, this article assesses the cash support which families receive for their children in Croatia, Greece, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The impact of policies across the income distribution on different family sizes, child-rearing cost compensation and child poverty is estimated. A method for the calculation of child-contingent payments for each child by order of birth in the family is proposed as a complementary indicator of policy design. The results confirm that a combination of universal and targeted support (either from family or social assistance benefits) is the most effective in poverty reduction and cost compensation. While high support for larger families greatly reduces poverty, generous universal or even lower support for large families has proved to be at least equally effective.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"254 - 269"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46788906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-14DOI: 10.1177/09589287221088174
Adrian Hernandez, Fidel Picos, Sara Riscado
Minimum income schemes aim at providing citizens with a minimum living standard. In some EU countries, their regulation and provision takes place at the subnational level. This is the case in Spain, where minimum income schemes are a heterogeneous and complex collection of regional benefits designed and implemented at the regional level, by the Autonomous Communities. In June 2020, a complementary nationwide minimum income scheme was implemented. In this context, we use the European microsimulation model EUROMOD, together with microdata from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, to comprehensively assess the performance of the whole minimum income system. We simulate a sequence of theoretical scenarios, considering different degrees of coverage and adequacy of these benefits and show that extending the coverage of the regional schemes would significantly alleviate poverty. However, it would not be sufficient to eliminate it and further increases in the benefit amounts would also be required. Furthermore, the new nationwide minimum income can potentially reduce the shortfall in income from the poverty line, if cost-shifting practices from the regional to the national budgetary level are limited. We discuss the importance of this case study in light of the decentralization of minimum income policies and derive some general policy implications. JEL classification: H53, H75, I38.
{"title":"Moving towards fairer regional minimum income schemes in Spain","authors":"Adrian Hernandez, Fidel Picos, Sara Riscado","doi":"10.1177/09589287221088174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221088174","url":null,"abstract":"Minimum income schemes aim at providing citizens with a minimum living standard. In some EU countries, their regulation and provision takes place at the subnational level. This is the case in Spain, where minimum income schemes are a heterogeneous and complex collection of regional benefits designed and implemented at the regional level, by the Autonomous Communities. In June 2020, a complementary nationwide minimum income scheme was implemented. In this context, we use the European microsimulation model EUROMOD, together with microdata from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, to comprehensively assess the performance of the whole minimum income system. We simulate a sequence of theoretical scenarios, considering different degrees of coverage and adequacy of these benefits and show that extending the coverage of the regional schemes would significantly alleviate poverty. However, it would not be sufficient to eliminate it and further increases in the benefit amounts would also be required. Furthermore, the new nationwide minimum income can potentially reduce the shortfall in income from the poverty line, if cost-shifting practices from the regional to the national budgetary level are limited. We discuss the importance of this case study in light of the decentralization of minimum income policies and derive some general policy implications. JEL classification: H53, H75, I38.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"452 - 466"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43390123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-02DOI: 10.1177/09589287221101344
Sergey Malinovskiy, E. Shibanova
Higher education has generally been excluded from the welfare discourse, especially in transition countries. This article addresses existing research gaps by applying the ideas of decommodification and stratification to higher education in post-Soviet countries, within the comparative framework of welfare regime typology. The purpose of this study is to analyse the extent to which higher education relates to welfare state models in such countries. The research demonstrates that institutional settings and outcomes of higher education provision in Estonia, Georgia and Russia are evolving toward patterns of social-democratic, liberal and conservative models, respectively. Although the correspondence is incomplete, we argue that post-Soviet states are more similar to groups of countries representing these welfare regimes than to each other. This study argues against the assumption of a uniform post-Soviet pattern of higher education policy and shows that its structuring is embedded in the wider context of national welfare state models.
{"title":"Higher education in welfare regimes: Three worlds of post-Soviet transition","authors":"Sergey Malinovskiy, E. Shibanova","doi":"10.1177/09589287221101344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221101344","url":null,"abstract":"Higher education has generally been excluded from the welfare discourse, especially in transition countries. This article addresses existing research gaps by applying the ideas of decommodification and stratification to higher education in post-Soviet countries, within the comparative framework of welfare regime typology. The purpose of this study is to analyse the extent to which higher education relates to welfare state models in such countries. The research demonstrates that institutional settings and outcomes of higher education provision in Estonia, Georgia and Russia are evolving toward patterns of social-democratic, liberal and conservative models, respectively. Although the correspondence is incomplete, we argue that post-Soviet states are more similar to groups of countries representing these welfare regimes than to each other. This study argues against the assumption of a uniform post-Soviet pattern of higher education policy and shows that its structuring is embedded in the wider context of national welfare state models.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"33 1","pages":"67 - 83"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43614803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-31DOI: 10.1177/09589287221089477
J. Clasen, Clara Mascaro
Activation as a social policy topic has been investigated since the late 1990s and continues to be popular in academic analysis and discourse. In this review, we highlight the wide range of research aims and themes covered within relevant publications. We also identify a considerable degree of conceptual inconsistency and ambiguity across the literature. Informed by methodological considerations, we conclude by suggesting a parsimonious root concept of activation which would allow for a more consistent and less ambiguous application within and across different levels of analysis.
{"title":"Activation: a thematic and conceptual review","authors":"J. Clasen, Clara Mascaro","doi":"10.1177/09589287221089477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221089477","url":null,"abstract":"Activation as a social policy topic has been investigated since the late 1990s and continues to be popular in academic analysis and discourse. In this review, we highlight the wide range of research aims and themes covered within relevant publications. We also identify a considerable degree of conceptual inconsistency and ambiguity across the literature. Informed by methodological considerations, we conclude by suggesting a parsimonious root concept of activation which would allow for a more consistent and less ambiguous application within and across different levels of analysis.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"484 - 494"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42380448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-28DOI: 10.1177/09589287221101339
Igor Guardiancich, Mattia Guidi, Andrea Terlizzi
Pensions at the European level have been, since the sovereign debt crisis, affected by several decision-making innovations. Retirement policy has been embedded in the European Semester, which strengthened the hitherto inadequate European socioeconomic policy coordination mechanisms. Given that the additional powers bestowed upon the Commission were qualified, a supranational response followed. With the effect of strengthening its rational-legal authority, in line with neo-functionalist spillover assumptions, evidence-based standards have been progressively applied to EU retirement policy formation. This innovative turn warrants the employment of a policy analysis theoretical framework. In particular, the article applies the concepts underpinning policy evaluation to the study of pensions within the Semester. Using a mixed-methods approach, which combines case study with statistical analysis, and following a novel in-depth coding of country-specific recommendations and Country Reports, this article argues that member states’ pensions are now assessed within a structured, formal and polycentric evaluation cycle. This has been gradually constructed by increasing the coherence between the yearly interim ex post evaluations of pension policy output (the Country Reports) and the final ex post evaluations of pension policy outcomes (the Ageing and Pension Adequacy Reports) that are published every 3 years. The result is a streamlined, technocratic, knowledge-based approach to retirement policy at the supranational level. Even though the generation of technical knowledge is no substitute for toothless conditionality, greater reliance on evidence is aimed at socializing national decision-makers and may eventually influence their policy choices. The unconventional pension evaluation cycle that sprung up around the Semester may, hence, serve as a model applicable to other socioeconomic policy domains.
{"title":"Beyond the European Semester: The supranational evaluation cycle for pensions","authors":"Igor Guardiancich, Mattia Guidi, Andrea Terlizzi","doi":"10.1177/09589287221101339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221101339","url":null,"abstract":"Pensions at the European level have been, since the sovereign debt crisis, affected by several decision-making innovations. Retirement policy has been embedded in the European Semester, which strengthened the hitherto inadequate European socioeconomic policy coordination mechanisms. Given that the additional powers bestowed upon the Commission were qualified, a supranational response followed. With the effect of strengthening its rational-legal authority, in line with neo-functionalist spillover assumptions, evidence-based standards have been progressively applied to EU retirement policy formation. This innovative turn warrants the employment of a policy analysis theoretical framework. In particular, the article applies the concepts underpinning policy evaluation to the study of pensions within the Semester. Using a mixed-methods approach, which combines case study with statistical analysis, and following a novel in-depth coding of country-specific recommendations and Country Reports, this article argues that member states’ pensions are now assessed within a structured, formal and polycentric evaluation cycle. This has been gradually constructed by increasing the coherence between the yearly interim ex post evaluations of pension policy output (the Country Reports) and the final ex post evaluations of pension policy outcomes (the Ageing and Pension Adequacy Reports) that are published every 3 years. The result is a streamlined, technocratic, knowledge-based approach to retirement policy at the supranational level. Even though the generation of technical knowledge is no substitute for toothless conditionality, greater reliance on evidence is aimed at socializing national decision-makers and may eventually influence their policy choices. The unconventional pension evaluation cycle that sprung up around the Semester may, hence, serve as a model applicable to other socioeconomic policy domains.","PeriodicalId":47919,"journal":{"name":"Journal of European Social Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"578 - 591"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44712097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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