Download or read book Confidence and Changes Managing Social Protection in the New Millennium written by Danny Pieters and published by Springer. This book was released on 2001-12-06 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The confidence of wage-earners, who depend on an administrative "safety net" to protect them from loss of income, has virtually disappeared. Social exclusion and poverty have become inescapable threats for the average worker. It was to tackle this enormously important issue that the European Institute of Social Security (EISS), a leading multidisciplinary research group dedicated to exploring the frontiers of social security, met in June 2000 in GandÖteborg in Sweden. Twenty members of the Institute prepared papers for delivery at the conference, all of which are now printed in this book. These papers include discussion of such elements as the following: the shift in emphasis from compensation for loss of income to a more preventive approach based on income security; measures against social exclusion enacted by the European Union; the meaning of the term "employability" as revealed in EU Member States' National Action Plans (NAPs); the growing pressure on beneficiaries to "perform" rather than "conform"; the interplay in international law between human rights and social security; labour market participation according to gender and educational level; labour market participation among families with young children; the promise of a "federal" social security system in Europe; and objective standards vs. "moral hazard" in labour market insurance. Various reform initiatives (including the controversial debate on private sector funding) are also covered, making Confidence and Changes the most wide-ranging and provocative book on the subject available today.
Download or read book The changing face of welfare written by Goul Andersen, Jørgen and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2005-10-12 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been major shifts in the framework of social policy and welfare across Europe. Adopting a multi-level, comparative and interdisciplinary approach, this book develops a critical analysis of policy change and welfare reform in Europe. The book applies a dynamic and change oriented perspective to shed light on policy changes that are often poorly understood in the welfare literature, and contributes to a further development of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for understanding social change. Using citizenship as a focus, several dimensions of change are analysed simultaneously: changes in the discipline of social policy itself; the changing character of social problems; changes in social policy and citizenship; and the emergence of new forms of social integration. The book also speculates on how different dimensions of change are interlinked.
Download or read book The Gender Dimension of Social Change written by Elisabetta Ruspini and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new study uses longitudinal data to provide new insights into the changing dynamics of lives of women today. In particular, it explores the potential of longitudinal or life course analysis as a powerful tool for appreciating the gender dimension of social life.
Download or read book Security written by Ulrich Becker and published by Europa Law Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social security systems are experiencing a profound change all over Europe, due to internal as well as to external reasons, such as changes in society, in the labor markets, and globalization. The normative dimension of these changes is often overlooked. This book takes the first step in filling the gap, concentrating on security as a general principle of European social security law (GPSoc), explaining what this principle means and how it works. The book reflects the way in which legal comparison can be used to gain a better understanding of social security law. It brings together detailed reports from 14 European countries and analyzes the effects of security on legislative, as well as on administrative, action. It not only provides detailed information about the institutions and the instruments through which social security works in practice, but also offers a better understanding of its normative basis. This basis is fundamental. It explains the role which social security plays in modern societies, since it is, after all, a core element of the Nation State which holds these societies together in times in which they can no longer be based on religion or social class.
Download or read book Transforming Unjust Structures written by Severine Deneulin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-07-06 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SÉVERINE DENEULIN, MATHIAS NEBEL AND NICHOLAS SAGOVSKY TRANSFORMING UNJUST STRUCTURES The Capability Approach THE CAPABILITY APPROACH Structural injustice has traditionally been the concern of two major academic disciplines: economics and philosophy. The dominant model of economics has long been that of neo-classical economics. For neo-classical economists, human we- being is to be assessed by the availability of disposable income or according to goods consumed; it is measured by the levels of utility achieved in the consumption of commodities. Social order is fashioned by the ways consumers maximise their 1 well-being and enterprises maximise their profits. A core assumption is that all 2 commodities are commensurable: they can all be measured according to a single 3 numerical covering value, which is their price. Within this neo-classical paradigm, justice is achieved when the utility level of someone cannot be increased without 4 another person seeing his or her utility level decrease. The dominant paradigm of neo-classical economics was strongly challenged when development and welfare economist Amartya Sen received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998. His work offered an alternative to the neo-classical evaluation of human well-being in the utility/commodity space. The underlining philosophical intuition behind Sen’s work is that the standard of living lies in the living and not in the consumption of commodities. In searching for an alternative measure of human well-being, Sen devised his capability approach.
Download or read book Poverty policy and the state written by O'Brien, Mike and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2007-11-29 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Zealand has experienced both sweeping economic and social reform and growing poverty and income inequality in the last twenty years. This book explores the changes to social security provision and coverage in the context of these developments and of widening national and international poverty and inequality. The book argues that the policy initiatives have altered the nature of social security and in doing so have significantly transformed the nature of social citizenship. The author brings the New Zealand data together in a way that has not been done previously and provides the reader with both a detailed discussion of the work on poverty and living standards in New Zealand and the political and economic context within which social security changes have occurred. Linking the discussion to international changes in social security and to the international literature on poverty and inequality, the author demonstrates the important implications the New Zealand directions have for the development of social security internationally. The book will be of considerable interest for all those interested in international reshaping of state support for the poorest and most vulnerable and its development in a neoliberal and Third Way.
Download or read book Making it Personal written by van Berkel, Rik and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2007-02-28 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the development of increasingly individualised public social services in the EU. It focuses particularly on activation services that have become crucial in the 'modernisation' of welfare states, comparing their introduction in the UK, Germany, Italy, Finland and the Czech Republic.
Download or read book Law Democracy and Solidarity in a Post national Union written by Erik Oddvar Eriksen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-07-04 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigates how the values of the rule of law, solidarity and democracy can be understood in the European Union in order ensure the sustainability of the European political order.
Download or read book Europe and the Politics of Capabilities written by Robert Salais and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-13 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The social agenda of the European Union is shifting towards broad social initiatives that align social and economic objectives with the promotion of employment. This calls for an action framework that permits social dialogue and political deliberation to inform and complement legislative action at all levels. The debate, however, has been dominated by advocates of traditional welfare states. This book, to break out of this sterile stalemate, demonstrates how an employment-orientated social policy in Europe can develop from a new, different set of policy principles, specifically 'a capability approach'. Taking inspiration from the work of Amartya Sen, this book focuses on the effective freedom people need to achieve their goals in life and work. The result of ongoing collaboration between researchers and social actors, it will appeal to social scientists, students, policy-makers and all those concerned with the building of Europe.
Download or read book Free Movement Social Security and Gender in the EU written by Vicki Paskalia and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-07-31 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work examines the system of co-ordination of national social security laws in the European Union from a gender perspective. The central question that it raises concerns the level of social security protection enjoyed by women moving throughout the Union in cases of work interruption or marriage dissolution. Women's social security protection has traditionally been based on two criteria, namely economic activity and family/marriage. Work interruptions, in particular for child-rearing, challenge the invocation of economic activity as an effective basis for social security rights. Changing social and family conditions, including the emergence of atypical relationships and increasing divorce rates, challenge the criterion of family/marriage. Efforts have been made within the framework of the national systems of the Member States to address these challenges, often unsuccessfully. So, how successful has the European system of co-ordination, the aim of which is to provide a sufficient level of protection to migrant workers and their families, been in addressing these challenges? The book contains comprehensive discussion of the phenomenon and legal institution of social security, as well as a thorough analysis of the current state of European Community law concerning co-ordination, with a particular focus on gender. It identifies several problematic areas where solutions must be worked out and action taken. The book fills a gap in the legal literature on the social security field and will appeal to those with an interest in social security, including academics, policy-makers and practitioners.
Download or read book European Social Security and Global Politics Eiss Yearbook written by European Institute for Social Security. Conference and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve remarkable essays in this book explore this vital issue from a number of enlightening perspectives. European Social Security and Global Politics represents a partial gleaning of the September 2001 conference-held in Bergen, Norway-of the European Institute of Social Security, a leading multidisciplinary research group and the vanguard of the debate on social security in Europe. Fifteen highly committed researchers and administrators from all over Europe offer in-depth analysis and conclusions in such crucial areas as: how globalisation increases inequality and hinders redistribution of wealth how certain social security policies hamper the free movement of workers the elusive promise of regional social security in Europe essential elements of any proposed global social security policy various reform initiatives for the fair administration of pension schemes In addition to the invaluable individual insights advanced in each paper, two notable trends seem to pervade the entire conference. One is the growing divergence of social security policy within European countries, coexisting uneasily with EU measures against social exclusion; the other is the sudden clarity of principle and design in the European welfare state when seen against the virtual anarchy of the globalisation model. Where these trends may lead us is only beginning to come into focus, and this book is among the first to sharpen the images of the possible futures in European social security that are likely to emerge in the next decade. All professionals in any aspect of social security policy or study will benefit enormously from this provocative book, not only in Europe but throughout the world.
Download or read book Aging in European Societies written by Constantinos Phellas and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-09-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between longer life expectancies and declining birth rates, Europe’s elder population is growing into a sizable minority with considerable impact on nations, health systems, and economies—in other words, global implications as well as local and regional ones. Those investing in the health of older adults need a double perspective: the social and clinical complexity of aging and the larger forces shaping these experiences. Aging in European Societies examines aging trends across the continent, analyzing individual and collective variables that affect the lives of older adults, and drawing salient comparisons with other parts of the world. An interdisciplinary panel of experts provides theory, research, and empirical findings (with examples from the UK, Cyprus, Sweden, and others) in key areas such as family and social supports, physical and cognitive changes, dependence and autonomy issues, and living arrangements. The book’s wide-net approach offers insights into not only aging, but aging well. And of particular importance, it details approaches to defining and measuring the elusive but crucial concept, quality of life. Included in the coverage: The potential for technology to improve elders’ quality of life. Dementia and quality of life issues. Changes in functional ability with aging and over time. Family networks and supports in older age. Factors influencing inequalities in quality of life. Late-life learning in the E.U. Gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, and public health policymakers will welcome Aging in European Societies as a springboard toward continued discussion, new directions for research, and improvements in policy and practice.
Download or read book Contractualism in Employment Services written by E. Sol and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the issue explored are the following: motivation, mobility, and flexibility in the labour market; effect of contractualisation on public accountability and responsibility; effect on the individual's statutory relationship under social security; whether and to what extent the conditions on which one country successfully introduces contractualisation apply to other countries; and, the unemployed individual as 'contract partner': What conditions can he or she set? The analyses focus on experience with contracts as service deliverance in the labour markets of eight countries: Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Finland. Because a certain measure of experience has already been built up by governments, providers, and clients, now is the time to try and learn form good as well as bad practices in order to build coherent institutional frameworks to help the unemployed
Download or read book The Third Sector in Europe written by Adalbert Evers and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors examine the voluntary & non-profit sectors in Europe. They discuss a number of issues regarding this 'third' sector.
Download or read book Eating from One Pot written by Sarah Mosoetsa and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As poverty and unemployment deepen in contemporary South Africa, the burning question becomes, how do the poor survive? Eating from One Pot provides a compelling answer. Based on intensive fieldwork, it shows how many African households are on the brink of collapse. That they keep going at all can largely be attributed to the struggles of older women against poverty. They are the fulcrum on which household survival turns. This book describes how households in two different areas in KwaZulu-Natal are sites of both stability and conflict. As one of the interviewees put it: ‘We eat from one pot and should always help each other.’ Yet the stability of family networks is becoming fragile because of the enormous burden placed on them by unemployment and unequal power relations. Through careful analysis, the experiences of survival are discussed in relation to the restructuring of the country's welfare and social policies, and the extension of social grants. Mosoetsa argues that these policies shape the livelihoods that people pursue in order to survive under desperate conditions, but fail to address the root causes of poverty and inequality.
Download or read book Social Exclusion in European Welfare States written by R. J. A. Muffels and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Exclusion in European Welfare States focuses on the complex relationship between economic welfare, labor market performance and social inclusion/exclusion. The contributors to the volume examine in detail the alleged trade-off between the social and economic capabilities of a society and their impact on the well-being of the citizens. Furthermore, they identify welfare regimes whose policies are more balanced in terms of prioritizing economic as well as social goals and, hence, are more successful in promoting social inclusion along with faster growth.
Download or read book Law and Poverty written by Lucy Williams and published by Zed Books. This book was released on 2003-12 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work exposes how law is central to the causes and structure of poverty, and explores new possibilities for using the law to alleviate poverty. It covers international human rights conventions, constitutional and statutory provisions and social insurance and social assistance law.
