International Social Policy

Edited by Pete Alcock & Gary Craig 2001 , PALGRAVE, NY

Chapter 01 : The Comparative Context by Pete Alcock

Welfare State or Welfare Mix

• What do we mean by social policy or welfare provision?
• The economic development of all developed countries also linked with social
development and all of them have a collective welfare system, regulated by
the state.
• In this context social services mean providing basic social needs i.e. food,
shelter, health, education for all and additional care for vulnerable adults and
children. However, there is debate that whether they are universal.
• Some times when social policy accompanies the economic policy it refers as
industrialisation or convergence thesis ---- Wilesky 1975-76
• Marxist links the development of welfare directly to the class struggle ---
Gough 1979.
• All the major developed countries have gone through a major change in
economic growth and policy planning during the second half twentieth century
( though with sharp differences of scale and development(– Catles 1999
• In this context – a welfare state implies the adoption of a particular stage in the
social development of industrial economics, from which the public agencies of
the state accept formal responsibility for providing for the welfare needs of
their citizen. (a linear model; of growth)
• In a welfare state notion of social citizenship is attained, through the use of
public services to guarantee social rights. --- Marshal 1950
• Countries like in Southern Europe where welfare provision instead of state
come through extended family, non-government organisations including
churches as well as the state – the appropriate term is Welfare Society rather
Welfare state.
• Most of the countries now have a mixed of both paradigm i.e. welfare state
and welfare society thus the social policy is now called Welfare Mix –
Johnson 1987.
• State still play an important role in social policy as being regulator.

Comparative Social Policy

• The question of social provisions and social policy issues are increasing
becoming a international question rather then a national policy matter as
international organisation like European Union, international Monetary
Fund, World bank, etc influence directly the shape of the social policy of a
nation. Social policy globalisation?
• Policy transfer
• Problems in comparative study.. universal explanation of social policy,
theoretical over-generalisation, empirical compatibility as the day in different
countries might be collected in different circumstances and different ways. –
Luxemburg Income study---

A common international context

Chapter Two

American Welfare State

• 1930s depression led to Roosevelt’s New Deal i.e federal funded public
works schemes .. “ Work and relief state” rather then walfare state
Amenta 1998
• Public Works Administration in 1933 and then Social Security Act was
enacted in 1935 … which is based on three principles
o Social Insurance should not be directed at the elimination of all
hardship, but only be concerned with involuntary conditions
o Workers should see connection between their income, insurance
payments and benefits which they received, avoiding expectation
of high benefits level, and maintaining work incentives.
o It should be distinguished from public assistance. Benefits should
be earned as a right through contributions rather than being
 stigmatising and means-tested relief from the public purse or
private charity.
• Two tire system insurance based benefits and public assistance
• The failure of the Clinton administration to implement health care reform
was due to withdrawal insurance companies who supposed to be partner
in a universal health care system.. and due to fears of being seen as not
New Democrat (neo-Conservative).
• Clinton administration ended the two tire welfare system by effectively
terminating AFDC….. changing federal funding, limiting time on welfare
to two years and enabling states to impose tighter time limits and
behavioural conditions in respect to child and mother. .time limit
redefined the roll of poor/single mothers who before have support to rise
their children now are subject to go to job market to earn to support their
children… the other option explicitly enforced through welfare
conditions was to live in a traditional bond of marriage..
• The Personal Responsibility Act 1996 redefined the purpose of
welfare…
• 1. provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared at
their own homes or homes of relatives…. 2. end dependence of
parents on welfare by promoting job preparation, work and marriage…..
3.. prevent and limit the out-of-wedlock pregnancies…….4. encourage
the formation and maintenance of two parent families.
• The act has a strong emphasis on Personal Responsibility transforming
the welfare system from the government obligation to provide work or
financial support to push individuals towards work by taking a personal
responsibility of self financial independence.
• It broke the relationship between federal government and citizen that was
established through the New Deal by blocking AFDC funding to states
• in 1994 Republican congress replaced entirely AFDC with the Temporary
Assistant to Needy Families TANF… strict time limits and work
requirements on loan mothers receiving cash assistance
• Welfare programmes use to redefine and reshape the labour market
according to the needs of the economy
 Chapter Three Canada

• 1930s recession paved the way for federal based unemployment

insurance that became law in 1940 and it is still the only major social
program under federal jurisdiction.
• Based on Beveridge Report 1943 to avoid another period of depression
at the end of World War II, the federal government introduced Family
Allowance in 1945, a universal non taxable monthly payment program
to mother for each child age upto 16. In 1944 National Housing Act. In
1952 Old Age Security a universal non taxable monthly payment
program to every residence of age over 65… the OAS was
supplemented further by Guaranteed Incom Supplement in 1967.. a
mean-tested program based on family rather than individual income. .
These all programs formed the foundation of Canada’s welfare state.
• In case of Canada every province have its on social welfare system and
federal government now has minimum participation
• From 1965 to 1970 Canada reached the high point in its welfare state
development .. Canada Pension Plan CCP1965 ,
• The Canada Assistance Plan CAP 1966 .. Federal department of
Finance never happy about it because federal government was suppose
to reimburse the 50 percent cost of welfare at the end of the year
which make it impossible the Planning task difficult as the there was
no cap on federal contribution. CAP was abolished in 1996
• Medicare 1966… all the federal programs..
• In 1978 Refundable Child Tax Credit program was introduced which
was based on personal income tax… a impersonal and non-
stigmatising means testing system for distribution of child benefits.
• Workfare for claimants
• In 1998 after decades Canada Child Tax Credit was introduced as a
major social program
• The transition in Canada from a modest welfare state to amore market-
oriented society occurred quickly and with little debate.
• Thatcherism clearly showed that ideological purity is not enough to
meet basic human needs…. At the end of Thatcher era Britain was
wealthier overall but deeply unequal in access to income and wealth,
starved of compassion and institutional help for vulnerable.
• Canada is firmly situated within the liberal welfare-state regime.