Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-gtxcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T07:05:15.070Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Older-age care politics, policy and institutional reforms in Lithuania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2014

ARUNAS JUSKA  and
GABRIELE CICIURKAITE
ARUNAS JUSKA*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
GABRIELE CICIURKAITE
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Arunas Juska, Department of Sociology, East Carolina University, 410-A Brewster, 10th Street, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. E-mail: juskaa@ecu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamics of policy reforms pertaining to care for older adults in post-socialist Lithuania. In the Soviet era social services in Lithuania were in a rudimentary stage of development. By the early 1990s a combination of long-term demographic trends such as ageing, a decline in fertility rates and an increase in divorce rates, and the impact of radical neo-liberal reforms significantly increased the number of older individuals living alone and in poverty. In response, a number of measures were undertaken to reform older-age care, resulting in decentralisation, institutional layering and institutional recalibration of social services. It is argued that the historical legacy has proved to be especially significant in the institutional development of social services by reproducing a State-centred system, although with a growing trend towards the privatisation and marketisation of social care. The role of various organised interests and civic groups, policy makers and international organisations, as well as ideologies and broader sets of cultural values in shaping social services pertaining to the care of older adults are discussed.

Keywords

post-socialist welfareelder-care serviceswelfare reforms
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , April 2015 , pp. 725 - 749
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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

Aidukaite, J. 2003. From universal system of social policy to particularistic? The cases of the Baltic states. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36, 4, 405–26.Google Scholar
Aidukaite, J. 2009. The transformation of welfare systems in the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithunia. In Cerami, A. and Vanhuysse, P. (eds), Post-Communist Welfare Pathways: Theorizing Social Policy Transformations in CEE. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, 96–112.Google Scholar
Alber, J. and Standing, G. 2000. Social dumping, catch-up or convergence? Europe in a comparative global context. Journal of European Policy, 10, 2, 99–119.Google Scholar
Bahle, T., Kohl, J. and Wendt, C. 2009. Welfare state. In Immerfall, S. and Therborn, G. (eds), Handbook of European Societies. Social Transformations in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, 571–628.Google Scholar
Beksta, A. and Petkevicius, A. 2000. Local government in Lithuania. In Horváth, T. M. (ed.), Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe. Decentralization: Experiments and Reforms. Volume 1, Open Society Institute, Budapest, 165–216.Google Scholar
Bernotas, D. and Guogis, A. 2003. Socialinės Politikos Modeliai: Dekomodifikacijos ir Savarankiškai Dirbančiųjų Problemos [Social Policy Regimes: Decommodification and Its Impacts on the Self-employed]. Lietuvos Teises Universitetas, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Bertelsen, F. and Zalmiene, L. 2004. Social Policy and and Community Social Service Development Project in Lithuania. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Bikmanienė, R. 2005. Senyvo amžiaus žmonių stacionarinės globos paslaugų ekonominis and socialinis efektyvumas [Social and economic effectiveness of older-age residential services]. PhD disseration, Vilniaus Gedimino Technikos Universitetas, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Bohle, D. and Greskovits, B. 2007. Neoliberalism, embedded neoliberalism and neocorporatism: towards transnational capitalism in Central-Eastern Europe. West European Politics, 30, 3, 443–66.Google Scholar
Burau, V. D., Theobald, H. and Blank, R. H. 2007. Governing Home Care. A Cross-national Comparison. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.Google Scholar
Cerami, A. and Vanhuysse, P. 2009. Post-communist Welfare Pathways: Theorizing Social Policy Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, L. 2002. Institutional and political legacies of the socialist welfare state. In Lane, D. S. (ed.), The Legacy of State Socialism and the Future of Transformation. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 107–25.Google Scholar
Council of Europe 2012. Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. Local and Regional Democracy in Lithuania. Council of Europe, Brussels.Google Scholar
Daugirdas, V. and Mačiulytė, J. 2006. Decentralizacija ir teritorinė savivalda Lietuvoje [Decentralisation and territorial administration in Lithuania]. Politologija, 3, 43, 91–110.Google Scholar
De la Porte, C. and Deacon, B. 2004. Social policy influence of the EU and other global actors: the case of Lithuania. Policy Studies, 25, 2, 121–37.Google Scholar
De Vos, S. 2002. Elderly living arrangements in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, and Romania. European Journal of Population, 18, 1, 21–38.Google Scholar
Dunajevas, E. 2011. Asmeninių socialinių paslaugų sistemos raida pokomunistinėje Lietuvoje [Historical evolution of social services in post-communist Lithuania]. PhD dissertation, Vilniaus Universitetas, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Ebbinghaus, B. 2005. Can path dependence explain institutional change? Two approaches applied to welfare state reform. MPIfG Discussion Paper 05/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne, Germany.Google Scholar
Eurobarometer 2007. Health and Long-term Care in the European Union. European Commission, Brussels.Google Scholar
European Social Network 2008. Social services in transition. ESN Working Paper for the seminar Building Capacity, Improving Quality Services in New Member States, European Social Network, Social Services in Europe, Ljubljana.Google Scholar
Ferge, Z. 2001. Welfare and ‘ill-fare’ systems in Central-Eastern Europe. In Sykes, R., Palier, B., Prior, P. and Campling, J. (eds), Globalization and European Welfare States: Challenges and Change. Palgrave, New York, 127–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaulė, E. 2011. Analysis of county governors’ administrations reform of 2010 in Lithuania. Viešoji Politika Ir Administravimas, 10, 3, 413–26.Google Scholar
Guogis, A. 2005. Socialinių paslaugų ekonominiai svertai Lietuvos savivaldybėse [Fiscal management of the municipal social services in Lithuania]. Socialinis Darbas, 4, 1, 66–73.Google Scholar
Guogis, A. and Bogdanova, N. 2012. Sovietinio socialinės apsaugos modelio funkcijos bei raida ir Lietuva [Historical evolution of social security and its functions in Soviet Lithuania]. Politologija, 2, 66, 32–77.Google Scholar
Izyumov, A. 2010. Human costs of post-communist transition: public policies and private response. Review of Social Economy, LXVIII, 1, 93–125.Google Scholar
Janusauskiene, D. 2002. The metamorphosis of the Communist Party of Lithuania. In Bozóki, A. and Ishiyama, J. (eds), The Communist Successor Parties of Central and Eastern Europe. M. E. Sharpe, New York, 224–39.Google Scholar
Kalediene, R. and Petrauskiene, J. 2004. Socio-economic transition, inequality, and mortality in Lithuania. Economics and Human Biology, 2, 1, 87–95.Google Scholar
Kapstein, E. and Mandelbaum, M. (eds) 1997. Sustaining the Transition: The Social Safety Net in Postcommunist Europe. Council on Foreign Relations, New York.Google Scholar
Kornai, J. N., Haggard, S. and Kaufman, R. R. (eds) 2001. Reforming the State: Fiscal and Welfare Reform in Post-socialist Countries. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Kostelnickiene, V. and Lazutka, R. 1995. Social security system reform in Lithuania. Experience and problems. In Simpura, J. (ed.), Social Policy in Transitional Societies: Experience from the Baltic Countries and Russia. The Finnish ICSW Committee, The Finnish Federation for Social Welfare, Helsinki, 201–17.Google Scholar
Krisciunas, A. 2003. Case-study: Lithuania. In Brodsky, J., Habib, J., Hirschfeld, M. and Siegel, B. (eds), Long-term Care in Developing Countries. Ten Case-studies. World Health Organization, Geneva, 217–45.Google Scholar
Lankininkaitė, R. 2013. Globos namams neužtenka valstybės finansavimo, atleidžiami darbuotojai [Nursing homes suffer shortfalls in state funding, cut staff]. Delfi.lt, 27 February. Available online at http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/education/globos-namams-neuztenka-valstybes-finansavimo-atleidziami-darbuotojai.d?id=60794659 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Lazutka, R. 2007. Pensijų sistemų raida Lietuvoje [A history of pensions in Lithuania]. Filosofija Sociologija, 18, 2, 64–80.Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas 1996. Lietuvos Respublikos Socialinių Paslaugų Įstatymas Nr. I-1579 [Social Service Law of the Republic of Lithuania No. I-1579]. Valstybės Žinios, 9 October. Available online at http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/oldsearch.preps2?a=32093&b= [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas 2006. Lietuvos Respublikos Socialinių Paslaugų Įstatymas Nr. X-493 [Social Service Law of the Republic of Lithuania No. X-493]. Valstybės Žinios, 19 January. Available online at http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter2/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=270342&p_query=&p_tr2= [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė [Government of the Republic of Lithuania] 1998. Nutarimas dėl apmokėjimo už socialines paslaugas principų ir tvarkos patvirtinimo [Decree on eligibility and payment for social services]. Valstybės Žinios, 29 January, 12–278. Available online at http://tar.tic.lt/Default.aspx?id=2&item=results&aktoid=585FE2FA-1120-4F92-A098-D00C9B81A92D [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė [Government of the Republic of Lithuania] 2006. Nutarimas dėl mokėjimo už socialines paslaugas tvarkos aprašo patvirtinimo [Decree on eligibility and payment for social services]. Valstybės Žinios, 14 June, 68-2510. Available online at http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter2/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=278281 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
LR Aukščiausioji Taryba 1990. Lietuvos Respublikos Valstybinio Socialinio Aprūpinimo Sistemos Pagrindų Įstatymas. 1990 m. Spalio 23 d. Nr. I-696 [Social Welfare Law of the Republic of Lithuania. October 23, 1990, No. I-696]. LR Aukščiausioji Taryba, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Mahoney, J. 2000. Path dependence in historical sociology. Theory and Society, 29, 4, 507–48.Google Scholar
Masionytė, A. 2013. Globos įstaigos: už pinigus vietų yra [Nursing homes: for paying clients only]. Lzinios.lt, 19 January. Available online at http://lzinios.lt/lzinios/sveikata/globos-istaigos-uz-pinigus-vietu-yra/66216 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Matthews, M. 1991. Perestroika and the rebirth of charity. In Jones, A., Connor, W. D. and Powell, D. E. (eds), Soviet Social Problems. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 154–71.Google Scholar
Mette, C. 2006. New EU Member States and the Dependent Elderly. ENEPRI Research Report No. 19, July, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes, Brussels.Google Scholar
Mikulioniene, S. 2011. Population aging in Lithuania: the need for a new attitude towards ageing. In Hoff, A. (ed.), Population Ageing in Central and Eastern Europe. Ashgate, Burlington, Vermont, 53–78.Google Scholar
Milanovic, B. 1998. Income, Inequality, and Poverty During the Transition from Planned to Market Economy. World Bank, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Novak, M. 2001. Reconsidering the socialist welfare state model. In Woodward, A. and Kohli, M. (eds), Inclusions and Exclusions in European Societies. Routledge, London, 111–26.Google Scholar
Offe, C. 2006. Political institutions and social power: conceptual explorations. In Shapiro, I., Skowronek, S. and Galvin, D. (eds), Rethinking Political Institutions: The Art of the State. New York University, New York, 9–31.Google Scholar
Orenstein, M. 2008. Postcommunist welfare states. Journal of Democracy, 19, 4, 80–94.Google Scholar
Paluckiene, J. 2000. Post-socialist welfare state and gender: comparative study in the Baltic states. In Taljūnaitė, M., Blom, R. and Melin, H. (eds), Social Studies vol. 4. Streaming Towards Social Stability. Lithuanian Institute of Philosophy and Sociology and Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Tampere, Vilnius and Tampere, 95–108.Google Scholar
Pierson, P. 1996. The new politics of the welfare state. World Politics, 48, 2, 143–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierson, P. 2000. Increasing returns, path dependence, and the study of politics. American Political Science Review, 94, 2, 251–67.Google Scholar
Powell, D. E. 1991. Aging and the elderly. In Jones, A., Connor, W. D. and Powell, D. E. (eds), Soviet Social Problems. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 172–93.Google Scholar
Samonis, V. 1998. Economic reforms in the Baltics: the case of Lithuania. In Iatridis, D. S. and Hopps, J. G. (eds), Privatization in Central and Eastern Europe: Perspectives and Approaches. Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut, 73–84.Google Scholar
Saukienė, I. 2011 a. Vizitas į penkis sostinės slaugos namus: musės ant kūnų ir abejotinas maisto davinys [Visit to five nursing homes in the capital of the country: flies on the bodies of clients and poor quality food]. Delfi.lt, 10 September. Available online at http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/health/vizitas-i-penkis-sostines-slaugos-namus-muses-ant-kunu-ir-abejotinas-maisto-davinys.d?id=49496040-ixzz2fjTjNFCz [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Saukienė, I. 2011 b. Reidas į senelių globos namus: vieta, kur galime atsidurti kiekvienas [Unannounced visit to a nursing home: a place where each of us could eventually end up residing]. Delfi.lt, 24 September. Available online at http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/reidas-i-seneliu-globos-namus-vieta-kur-galime-atsidurti-kiekvienas.d?id=49973584-ixzz2fN1ueQjP [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Schultz, D. and Rafferty, M. 1990. Soviet health care and perestroika. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 2, 193–97.Google Scholar
Socialinės Apsaugos ir Darbo Ministerija [Ministry of Social Security and Labor] 2013. Socialinis Pranešimas 2012–2013 [The Social Report 2012–2013]. Socialinės Apsaugos ir Darbo Ministerija, Vilnius. Available online at http://www.socmin.lt/index.php?-1385549550 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Socialinių Paslaugų Priežiūros Departamentas 2006. Informacija apie Apskrities, Savivaldybines bei kito Pavaldumo Senų Žmonių Globos Įstaigas Lietuvoje 2006 M. [Information on County, Municipality and Other Types of Older-age Care Institutions in Lithuania in 2006]. Socialinės Apsaugos ir Darbo Ministerija, Vilnius. Available online at http://www.sppd.lt/files/42Lyginamoji_analize_apskr_sav_suaugusiu_2006_1.doc [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Socialinių Paslaugų Priežiūros Departamentas 2009. Senų Žmonių Socialinės Globos Įstaigos [Older-age Care Institutions in Lithuania in 2009]. Socialinės Apsaugos ir Darbo Ministerija, Vilnius. Available online at http://www.sppd.lt/lt/informacija/Statistika/2009/ [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Statistikos Departamentas 2002. Lietuvos Statistikos Metraštis 2002 [Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2002]. Statistikos Departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Statistikos Departamentas 2013 a. Gyventojų Skaičius Metų Pradžioje ir Vidutinis Metinis Gyventojų Skaičius. Požymiai: Gyvenamoji Vietovė, Lytis (1959–2013) [Population at the Start of the Year and an Average Annual Population Size. Indicators: Place of Residence, Gender (1959–2013)]. Vilnius. Available online at http://db1.stat.gov.lt/statbank/default.asp?w=1920 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Statistikos Departamentas 2013 b. Parama Senatvėje. Požymiai: Išmokų ir Paslaugų Tipas (1996–2011) [Support in Older-age. Indicators: Payments and Types of Social Services Rendered (1996–2011)]. Vilnius. Available online at http://db1.stat.gov.lt/statbank/default.asp?w=1920 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Statistikos Departamentas 2013 c. Socialinės Paslaugos 2012 M [Social Services in 2012]. Vilnius. Available online at http://osp.stat.gov.lt/services-portlet/publication-file/4908/22_soc_pasl_2012.pdf [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Thelen, K. 2003. How institutions evolve: insights from comparative-historical analysis. In Mahoney, J. and Rueschemeyer, D. (eds), Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 208–40.Google Scholar
Tobis, D. 2000. Moving from Residential Institutions to Community-based Social Services in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. World Bank, Washington DC.Google Scholar
United Nations 2005. Living Arrangements of Older Persons Around the World. United Nations, New York.Google Scholar
United Nations 2006. World Population Ageing 1950–2050. Lithuania. Population Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York. Available online at http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/pdf/13llithu.pdf [Accessed 17 December 2013].Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1997. National Report – Lithuania. United Nations Publications, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Vanagaitė, R. 2011. Slauga Lietuvoje: Mirtis geriau [Death is preferable to older-age nursing in Lithuania]. Delfi.lt, 20 June. Available online at http://www.delfi.lt/news/balsuok2012/politikoakimis/rvanagaite-slauga-lietuvoje-mirtis-geriau.d?id=46792657 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Vanagaitė, R. 2012. Miegančių draugelių tvirtovė [The fortress of sleeping butterflies]. Delfi.lt, 13 February. Available online at http://www.delfi.lt/news/ringas/politics/rvanagaite-mieganciu-draugeliu-tvirtove.d?id=55445283 [Accessed 23 September 2013].Google Scholar
Velikonja, M. 2009. Lost in transition: nostalgia for socialism in post-socialist countries. East European Politics and Societies, 23, 4, 535–51.Google Scholar
Velkoff, V. and Kinsella, K. 1993. Aging in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. US Department of Commerce, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Vosyliūtė, A., Kasparavičienė, V., Maniukaitė, G. and Kocai, E. 2004. Varguomenė: Gyvensena ir Vertybės [Underclass: Lifestyles and Values]. Socialinių Tyrimų Institutas, Vilnius.Google Scholar
Weiss, L. and Theno, S. 1991. Perestroika and health care in the USSR: innovations in state financing. Journal of Public Health Policy, 12, 2, 229–40.Google Scholar
World Bank 1999. A model for the future. Innovative social policy in Lithuania. SPectrum, Fall. World Bank, Washington DC. Available online at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOCIALPROTECTION/214578-1096473261209/20846266/SPectrumFall1999.pdf [Accessed 17 December 2013].Google Scholar