[email protected] forskning.mah.se/en/id/hsjoch Swedish Social Policy within a European phrame What? Why? How? PhD Assistant Prof in Soc work Jonas

[email protected] forskning.mah.se/en/id/hsjoch

Swedish Social Policy within a European phrame

What? Why? How?

PhD Assistant Prof in Soc work Jonas Christensen

Malmö University

Faculty of Health and Society

Dept. of Social work

University of Genua

26th of March 2013

Very much welcome to

My background

• Malmö University since 2001• PhD in Ed Science – ”A Profession in change – A

Development Ecology Perspective”• MSc in Economics• Assistant Prof in Social work focusing Organisation• Field of Research focusing Organisation

and Education, Comparative aspects


Malmö – A part of he Öresund Region…


The Öresund region is comprised of Skåne and Själland, 3.7 million inhabitants, 1.2 million on the Swedish side and 2.5 million on the Danish side The Öresund Region currently accounts for 26 percent of the GDP (gross domestic products) of Sweden and Denmark.20 000 persons commute every day between the two countries

Malmö?

• Malmö is the region's growth centre• 300,000 inhabitants• Increased population for the twenty-sixth consecutive year• 40% of the city's inhabitants were born abroad• Malmö residents from 175 different countries• Young population: 48% are younger than 35



Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues….

…and Social Policy should be seen as a key part of how welfare is provided which means that social policy is also welfare policy…

…governed by:

Political

Economical

Social

Legal factors


….and Social Policy can be studied into a varirity of parts of a society:

• Welfare organization and structure• Social exklusion in general (Social marginalization)• Education• Health policy• Housing, living and homelessnes• Social assistance• Handicap policy• Minority issues and Integration policy• Social expenditure• Employment – Unemployement• Poverty in general (Child poverty)• Demography and Social development• Income distribution and redistribution• Social expenditure• Social insurance • Ageing • Drug policy • Family policy


Two key issues when studying Social Policy:

• What do we mean by development?

• What do we mean by welfare provision?


The Comparative Aspect

• Most studies of Social Policies in Europe focus either explicitly or implicitly on the Member States of the EU (Syskes 1998)

• But it is clear that Europe and the European Union (EU) are not co-terminus

• Even in the case of Western Europe, nations such as Norway and Switzerland have chosen to remain outside the EU.

• More fundamentally, the ongoing accession of a large number of Central and Eastern European countries has emphasised the shifting nature of the EU´s boundaries.


Two contrasting models for social planning and economic planning can be seen…:

• The low wage/low welfare model• Growth through the reduction of welfare commitments

• Acceptance of low wages and insecure work to the price of relatively high flexibility and employment

• Reduction of collective welfare costs through low taxation and social insurance payments

• Welfare support towards the poor and welfare support is reduced to a residual role

• Protection and participation provided mainly by the the labour market

• The USA has become the paradigm example for this model even though some European countries is moving steadily towards this direction, the UK for example?


• The high wage/high welfare model• Growth through the maintenace of public support and the promotion of social

integration and solidarity

• Requirement of political commitment to developing a high skill/high reward labour market through generous social insurance systems

• Extensive collective provision for education, training and health

• Social inequalities are reduced, in parts through transferation systems and relatively high level of taxation (not necessarily high income taxes but a high overall tax-pressure through other taxes)

• Universality as a basic principle of services

• In general a political consensus on the basic principles, here Sweden and the Scandinavian and Nordic countries (and to a high extent Germany) can be seen as examples

• An interesting example where generous social systems, when getting unemployed is combined with a relatively high degree

of dynamic on the labour market is Denmark, through its

so called Fexicurity-system.


Main driving forces behind the development of Social Policies:

Political driving forces through:• Ideology in general

• View on the role of the state

• Political traditions; liberal, socialistic, conservative

• Feminist politics

• View on how much governance the politicians should have through the public sector

Economical driving forces through:• Relation between equity and efficiency

• Globalization

• Industrialization

• Needs of labour and capital


and…:

• Demographic driving forces:• Proportion of elderly

• Birth rate

• Immigration

• Mobility

• Life – time cycles in relation to living, working etc

• Family definition

• Ideology as a driving force:• Over time due to expecations among citizens

• Differences lead to differences in development

• Differences in how welfare is defined and met

• The understanding of welfare


…and finally:

• Cultural driving forces:• Consequence of political and ideological factors but also more in

depth related to multi-culturalism,entrepreneurialism, central-state influence, role of the individual and the family in the provision of welfare


Sweden • Strong belief in universality

• Tradition of consensus and political compromise

• A role model? Risk that the model will be seen uncritically…

• Strong growth of private market provision through, for example ”free to choose-systems”

• The core of the model can be seen out from three policy areas:

• Social security• Focusing benefits, support, compensation and free access

• Public service• Focusing service, free access, and open access to documents

due to legislation (”The principle of Public”)

• Labour market poilicy• Focusing support, insurance, education and training


According to Esping Andersen´s Welfare Typologie…

• Sweden as a good example on the so called Social-democratic welfare model, highly characterised by:

– Universalism and equality

– Redistribution of wealth

– High benefits and basic social security

– State organized childcare

– Encourage women to work

– ….even though Sweden is undergoing changes

facing new demands….


Challenges facing us….

• Balance between Indivudalism and Collectivism

• Demand for freedom of choice and customer influence

• Market and Politics

• Regional difference

• Labour market policy

• Globalism


• Social rights Social benefits


• Thank you for your attention!

• Jonas Christensen

• www.mah.se/english

• http://www.mah.se/english/Schools-and-faculties/Faculty-of-Health-and-

• Society/Research/The-Research-Platform-Social-Vulnerability-and-Social-Work-/


Documents

[email protected] forskning.mah.se/en/id/hsjoch Swedish Social Policy within a European phrame What? Why? How? PhD Assistant Prof in Soc work Jonas