Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T12:32:25.632Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Global social policy: an application of welfare state theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2020

Chris Holden
Chris Holden*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, UK
*
CONTACT Chris Holden chris.holden@york.ac.uk Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Global social policy (GSP) takes different forms from those of national welfare states, since it depends on the activities of an array of international organisations and transnational actors. Three broad theoretical approaches have dominated the literature on national welfare state development: those focused on processes of economic development, industrialisation and urbanisation; those focused on class struggle and political mobilisation; and those focused on the effects of political institutions. This article applies each of these broad theoretical approaches to the development of GSP in order to illuminate the nature of GSP, its likely future development, and the constraints upon such development. It is concluded that the dominant forms taken by GSP will continue to be piecemeal, minimalist and essentially neoliberal for as long as an effective global political movement in favour of a more extensive GSP is absent.

Keywords

Global social policyglobal social governancewelfare state theorywelfare state development
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 40 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abiad, A., Furceri, D., & Topalova, P. (2015). The macroeconomic effects of public investment: Evidence from advanced economies. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Anderson, K. M. (2015). Social policy in the European Union. London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boas, M., & McNeil, D. (Eds.). (2004). Global institutions and development: Framing the world. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bonoli, G. (2001). Political institutions, veto points, and the process of welfare state adaptation. In Pierson, P. (Ed.), The new politics of the welfare state (pp. 238–264). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonoli, G. (2005). The politics of the new social policies: Providing coverage against new social risks in mature welfare states. Policy and Politics, 33(3), 431–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, D. (1978). The expansion of the public economy: A comparative analysis. American Political Science Review, 72(4), 1243–1261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cammack, P. (2004). What the World Bank means by poverty reduction, and why it matters. New Political Economy, 9(2), 189–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, S. (2005). Land, labour and politics: Social insurance in post-war Ireland. Social Policy and Society, 4(3), 303–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carin, B., & Wood, A. (Eds.). (2005). Accountability of the international monetary fund. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Cerny, P. (1990). The changing architecture of politics. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Cerny, P. (2010). Rethinking world politics: A theory of transnational pluralism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Correa, C. M. (2002). Public health and intellectual property rights. Global Social Policy, 2(3), 261–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, R. W. (1995). Understanding global disorder. London: Zed.Google Scholar
Cox, R. W. (1999). Civil society at the turn of the Millennium: Prospects for an alternative world order. Review of International Studies, 25(1), 3–28.Google Scholar
Deacon, B. (2006). Global social policy reform. In Utting, P. (Ed.), Reclaiming development agendas: Knowledge, power and international policy making (pp. 144–175). Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Deacon, B. (2007). Global social policy and governance. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Deacon, B. (2013). Global social policy in the making: The foundations of the social protection floor. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Deacon, B.with Hulse, M. & Stubbs, P. (1997). Global social policy: International organizations and the future of welfare. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Driver, S., & Martell, L. (2002). Third ways in Britain and Europe. In Schmidtke, O. (Ed.), The third way transformation of social democracy: Normative claims and policy initiatives in the 21st century (pp. 75–101). Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (Ed.). (1996). Welfare states in transition: National adaptations in global economies. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Social foundations of post-industrial economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, P. (2010). Is it labor's turn to globalize? Twenty-first century opportunities and strategic responses. Global Labour Journal, 1(3), 352–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fahey, T. (2002). The family economy in the development of welfare regimes: A case study. European Sociological Review, 18(1), 51–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, K. (2004). Corporate power and social policy in a global economy. Bristol: The Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, K. (2005). International class conflict and social policy. Social Policy and Society, 4(2), 217–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, K., & Irving, I. (2017). Deciphering the international monetary fund's (IMFs) position on austerity: Incapacity, incoherence and instrumentality. Global Social Policy, first published online. doi: 10.1177/1468018117729821CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finlayson, A. (1999). Third way theory. The Political Quarterly, 70(3), 271–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flora, P., & Alber, J. (1984). Modernization, democratization, and the development of the welfare state in Western Europe. In Flora, P. & Heidenheimer, A. J. (Eds.), The development of the welfare state in Europe and America (pp. 37–80). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
George, V., & Wilding, P. (2002). Globalization and human welfare. London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, S. (Ed.). (1993). Gramsci, historical materialism and international relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, S. (Ed.). (2003). Power and resistance in the new world order. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Gough, I. (1979). The political economy of the welfare state. London: MacMillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, P. A. (2002). The comparative political economy of the “third way”. In Schmidtke, O. (Ed.), The third way transformation of social democracy: Normative claims and policy initiatives in the 21st century (pp. 31–58). Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Hannah, E., Scott, J., & Wilkinson, R. (2017). Reforming WTO-civil society engagement. World Trade Review, 16(3), 427–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, B., & Holden, C. (2016). A corporate veto on health policy? Global constitutionalism and investor-state dispute settlement. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(5), 969–995.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Held, D. (2004). Global covenant: The social democratic alternative to the Washington consensus. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
Hirst, P., & Thompson, G. (1999). Globalization in question. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Holden, C. (2014a). Global poverty and inequality. In Yeates, N. (Ed.), Understanding global social policy (pp. 21–51). Bristol: Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holden, C. (2014b). International trade and welfare. In Yeates, N. (Ed.), Understanding global social policy (pp. 105–128). Bristol: Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holden, C. (2017). Confronting Brexit and Trump: Towards a socially progressive globalization. In Hudson, J., Needham, C., & Heins, E. (Eds.), Social policy review 29 (pp. 63–81). Bristol: The Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2001). Multi-level governance and European integration. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Huber, E., Ragin, C., & Stephens, J. (1993). Social democracy, Christian democracy, constitutional structure and the welfare state. American Journal of Sociology, 99(3), 711–749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulme, D. (2015). Global poverty: Global governance and poor people in the post-2015 era. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IMF. (2016a). Illustration of proposed quota and voting shares. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pdfs/pr10418_table.pdfGoogle Scholar
IMF. (2016b). IMF executive directors and voting power. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.aspxGoogle Scholar
IMF, World Bank & WTO. (2017). Making trade an engine of growth for all: The case for trade and for policies to facilitate adjustment. Prepared for discussion at the meeting of G20 sherpas, March 23–24, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2017/04/08/making-trade-an-engine-of-growth-for-allGoogle Scholar
Immergut, E. M. (1992). Health politics: Interests and institutions in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jawara, F., Kwa, A., & Sharma, S. (2004). Behind the scenes at the WTO: The real world of international trade negotiations / lessons of Cancun. London: Zed.Google Scholar
Kaasch, A. (2015). Complexity in global social governance. In Kaasch, A. & Martens, K. (Eds.), Actors and agency in global social governance (pp. 233–250). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaasch, A., & Martens, K. (2015). Actors and agency in global social governance. In Kaasch, A. & Martens, K. (Eds.), Actors and agency in global social governance (pp. 3–17). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kentikelenis, A. E., Stubbs, T. H., & King, L. P. (2016). IMF conditionality and development policy space, 1985–2014. Review of International Political Economy, 23(4), 543–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirton, J., Kulik, J., & Bracht, C. (2015). Slowly succeeding: G20 social policy governance. In Kaasch, A. & Martens, K. (Eds.), Actors and agency in global social governance (pp. 153–172). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korpi, W. (1983). The democratic class struggle. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Kruse, J., & Martens, K. (2015). NGOs as actors in global social governance. In Kaasch, A. & Martens, K. (Eds.), Actors and agency in global social governance (pp. 153–172). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lee, K. (2009). The world health organization. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Marshall, T. H. (1950). Citizenship and social class and other essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Marx, K. (1976). Capital: Volume 1. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Mishra, R. (1999). Globalization and the welfare state. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Momani, B. (2004). American politicization of the international monetary fund. Review of International Political Economy, 11(5), 880–904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, W., & Neususs, C. (1978). The “welfare state illusion” and the contradiction between wage labour and capital. In Holloway, J. & Picciotto, S. (Eds.), State and capital: A marxist debate (pp. 32–39). London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Narlikar, A., & Tussie, D. (2004). The G20 at the Cancun ministerial: Developing countries and their evolving coalitions in the WTO. World Economy, 27(7), 947–966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Navarro, Z., & Silva, M. K. (2006). Diversity and social opposition in the 21st century: The trajectory of the world social forum (2001–2005) (IDS Working Papers 275). Sussex: Institute of Development Studies.Google Scholar
Nunn, A., & White, P. (2016). The IMF and a new global politics of inequality? Journal of Australian Political Economy, 78, 186–231.Google Scholar
O'Brien, R. (2014). Global labour policy. In Yeates, N. (Ed.), Understanding global social policy (pp. 131–158). Bristol: Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, R., Goetz, A. M., Scholte, J. A., & Williams, M. (2000). Contesting global governance: Multilateral economic institutions and global social movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Connor, J. (1973). The fiscal crisis of the state. New York, NY: St Martins Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD. (2015). Development co-operation report 2015. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dac/development-co-operation-report-20747721.htmGoogle Scholar
OECD. (2016). Social expenditure: Aggregated data. OECD Social Expenditure Statistics (Database). doi: 10.1787/data-00166-enCrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD. (2017). About the inclusive framework on BEPS. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/beps-about.htmGoogle Scholar
Offe, C. (1984). Contradictions of the welfare state. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar
Ostry, J. D., Berg, A., & Tsangarides, C. G. (2014). Redistribution, inequality and growth. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostry, J. D., Loungani, P., & Furceri, D. (2016). Neoliberalism: Oversold? Finance & Development, 53(2), 38–41.Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, J. (2016, October 1). An open and shut case: Special report on the world economy. The Economist.Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, T., & Roumpakis, A. (2015). Democracy, austerity and crisis: Southern Europe and the decline of the European social model. In Romano, S. & Punziano, G. (Eds.), The European social model adrift: Europe, social cohesion and the economic crisis (pp. 189–211). Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Patomaki, H. (2000). Beyond Nordic nostalgia: Envisaging a social/democratic system of global governance. Cooperation and Conflict, 35(2), 115–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patomaki, H., & Teivainen, T. (2004). A possible world: Democratic transformation of global institutions. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Pierson, C. (2006). Beyond the welfare state? The new political economy of welfare. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Pierson, P. (2004). Politics in time: History, institutions and social analysis. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polanyi, K. (2001). The great transformation. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Price, D., & Pollock, A. M. (2003). The public health implications of world trade negotiations on the general agreement on trade in services and public services. The Lancet, 362, 1072–1075.Google Scholar
Schmidtke, O. (2002). Transforming the social democratic left: The challenges to third way politics in the age of globalization. In Schmidtke, O. (Ed.), The third way transformation of social democracy: Normative claims and policy initiatives in the 21st century (pp. 3–27). Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Scholte, J. A. (2012). A more inclusive global governance? The IMF and civil society in Africa. Global Governance, 18(2), 185–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J., Karides, M., Becker, M., Brunelle, D., Chase Dunn, C., della Porta, D., … Vazquez, R. (2016). Global democracy and the world social forums. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, J., & Wiest, D. (2012). Social movements in the world system: The politics of crisis and transformation. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Surender, R., & Urbina-Ferretjans, M. (2015). ‘New kids on the block?’ The implications of the BRICS alliance for global social governance. In Kaasch, A. & Martens, K. (Eds.), Actors and agency in global social governance (pp. 130–152). Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P. (2002). Poverty, social exclusion and social polarisation: The need to construct an international welfare state. In Townsend, P. & Gordon, D. (Eds.), World poverty: New policies to defeat an old enemy (pp. 3–24). Bristol: The Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P., & Donkor, K. (1996). Global restructuring and social policy: The need to establish an international welfare state. Bristol: The Policy Press.Google Scholar
Wilensky, H. (1975). The welfare state and equality: Structural and ideological roots of public expenditure. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Wilensky, H. (1976). The “new corporatism”, centralization and the welfare state. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Woods, N., & Narlikar, A. (2001). Governance and the limits of accountability: The WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank. International Social Science Journal, 53(170), 569–583.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. (2012). Resilience, equity and opportunity: The World Bank 2012–2022 social protection and labor strategy. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Yeates, N. (2002). Globalization and social policy: From global neoliberal hegemony to global political pluralism. Global Social Policy, 2(1), 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yeates, N. (2014). The idea of global social policy. In Yeates, N. (Ed.), Understanding global social policy (pp. 1–18). Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar