Crisis, miracles, and beyond : negotiated adaptation of the Danish welfare system / edited by Erik Albk ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Albk, Erik.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public welfare--Denmark.

Public welfare.

Denmark--Economic conditions--1945-.

Denmark.

Denmark--Economic policy.

Denmark--Social policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (308 p.)

Place of Publication:

Aarhus : Aarhus University Press ; Oakville, CT : David Brown Book Co. [distributor], c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How did Denmark avoid a macroeconomic catastrophe in the 1980's and 1990's and still manage not only to maintain but also expand its welfare state? Critics of the welfare state identified the vices behind Denmark's macroeconomic troubles as its enormous, thoroughly unionized, and unresponsive public sector combined with the large numbers of people who relied on the welfare state for their livelihood and thus made programmatic cuts politically difficult. Taxes for this welfare state compressed investment, eroding both fiscal and current account balances. Yet by the mid-1990's, public support for

Contents:

Conditional support for the welfare state Basic support for the welfare state: an overview; Top priorities: Health care, pensions and care for the elderly; Education and child care; Housing, unemployment benefits, and integration of immigrants; Other welfare areas; Provision of jobs and redistribution of income; Unusually high work commitment?; A note on fiscal illusions, demand overload and crisis awareness; Conclusions; Social variations; State employment, state dependence and polarization; Institutions, performance and discourse; Conclusions; References

3 the welfare state and the labor market Per H. Jensen; Introduction; The historical framework; Passive policies; Labor Market Effectiveness Policies; Reintegrating Policies; Policies encouraging flows in and out of the labor market; Number of persons enrolled in programs; High benefit levels and labor market flexibility; The prelude to the labor market reforms in the 1990's; Recent changes in Danish labor market policies; Passive policies; Improving workforce effectiveness and reintegrating policies; Changes in policy remedies; Policies encouraging flows in and out of the labor market

Conclusion References; 4 public expenditures; Is the Welfare State Manageable?; Peter Munk Christiansen; The political capacity to control welfare state expenses; Public spending trends in Denmark; The management of public expenditure; Total government expenses; Changes in priorities; Enhancing efficiency; Conclusion; References; 5small steps, big change?; Continuity and Change in The Danish Social Security System; Jon Kvist and Niels Ploug; Introduction; The emergence and development of the welfare state; The Basic Structure of Social Security; Organization; Provision; Financing

Fiscal Aspects

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

87-7934-677-4

OCLC:

817900051