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Short courses PhD
Comparative Welfare State Analysis
6 to 10 October
Workload: 2 ECTS
Faculty: Prof. Dr. Karl
Hinrichs, Centre for Social Policy
Research, University of Bremen
Assessment: Based on participation and assignments,
a small presentation
Content and objectives
Welfare
states in industrialised Western
nations differ in terms of size
(social expenditure as percentage of
Gross Domestic Product) and their
historically determined structure.
Moreover, they are exposed to
current challenges such a
globalisation, demographic ageing,
“new social risks” etc. in very
unequal manner, and they follow
paths of change which differ by
rigor and direction. Comparative
research has contributed much to the
explanation of the size, structure
and development (expansion,
retrenchment, recalibration) of
welfare states. It has resulted in a
number of theoretical approaches.
They conceptualise welfare states in
different ways, vary in their
methodology and suggest dissimilar
development in future (convergence
or continuous distinctions.
This introductory
course will hardly deal with the
substance or content of national
social policy arrangements, but
rather, provide a critical
evaluation of the main theories
explaining the development of
(advanced or emerging) welfare
states. They have highlighted either
the relative importance of
institutional variables, social
cleavages, partisanship and
ideology, or the role of economic
openness in explaining
cross-national differences. Special
attention will be given to new
analytical approaches that depart
from a construction of ideal types
or models of different welfare
states.
This course is meant to provide an
introduction into comparative
welfare state analysis and the
applied methodologies (why and how).
The course aims at
- reviewing the
insights provided by successive
“generations” of theoretical
approaches;
- evaluating the impact of
welfare state activity (e.g.
legitimacy, social equality) in
comparative manner;
- identifying indicators and
patterns of recent/ongoing welfare
state reform and discussing
corresponding theoretical
approaches.
Literature
(for
early preparation)
· Myles,
John; Quadagno, Jill, 2002: 'Political
Theories of the Welfare
State', Social Service Review
76, 34‑57.
· Castles,
Francis G.; Pierson, Christopher (eds.),
2000: Welfare State Reader,
Cambridge: Polity Press.
· Clasen,
Jochen (ed.), 1999: Comparative
Social Policy: Concepts, Theories
and Methods, Oxford: Blackwell. |
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