The dual transformation of the German welfare state / Peter Bleses and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bleses, Peter.

Contributor:

Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin.

Series:

New perspectives in German studies (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))

New perspectives in German studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Welfare state--Germany.

Welfare state.

Social policy.

Germany.

Germany--Social policy.

Physical Description:

xii, 192 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Summary:

The Dual Transformation of the German Welfare State combines a long-term perspective on social policy development with an innovative theoretical and methodological approach. Peter Bleses and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser analyse the work-welfare nexus of social policy as well as family-oriented policies. In combining these two social policy realms they demonstrate empirically that the conservative German welfare state has undergone a substantial change. Increasingly, the state reduces its social policy commitments towards securing the achieved living standard of former wage earners, which in the past had been the key normative principle of social policy in Germany, while at the same time public support and services for families are expanded. Furthermore, the authors ask how this change can be explained. After discussing the traditional theories explaining welfare state change and continuity, it is argued that the dual transformation of the German welfare state is primarily caused by the emergence of new dominating interpretative patterns. Without an analysis of the political discourse, social policy change and continuity cannot be sufficiently explained.

Contents:

Part I The Policy Dimension

1 Evaluating Policy Change: Some Theoretical and Methodological Remarks 9

2 Historical, Normative and Institutional Foundations of the German Welfare State in the Golden Post-World War II Era 14

2.1 Historical background 14

2.2 Norms and institutions 17

2.3 Summarising the social policy concept 27

3 Socio-economic Developments since the Mid-1970s 29

3.1 Economic discontinuities and the (preliminary) end of full employment 29

3.2 The standard employment relationship on the retreat 33

3.3 The end of the strong male breadwinner model? 36

4 The Changing Normative and Institutional Design of Social Policy 40

4.1 A quantitative perspective 41

4.2 A qualitative perspective 47

4.3 The dual transformation of the German welfare state 89

Part II The Political Dimension

5 Theories Explaining Welfare State Change 97

5.1 Political and institutional explanations 97

5.2 Socio-economic explanations 104

5.3 Evaluating the political, institutional and socio-economic explanations 109

5.4 A constructivist approach 110

6 Changing Interpretative Patterns 114

6.1 Globalisation limits social policy 116

6.2 Markets, personal responsibility and the welfare state 117

6.3 The labour market policy discourse 119

6.4 The pension system within the political discourse 127

6.5 Debates on family policy 134

6.6 New interpretative patterns guiding social policy reforms 140

7 Can Germany still be Considered a Conservative Welfare State? 145

7.1 Reforming the welfare state - summary of the main policy changes 146

7.2 Explaining welfare state change 150

7.3 The German welfare state from a comparative perspective 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 168-186) and index.

ISBN:

1403917841

OCLC:

54881759