The structure of the social welfare - The welfare mix

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

4 pages

Format :

.pdf

Published date :

03/02/2007

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Political science

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Summary :

Introduction
The analysis of the structure of the welfare system and the relation between the different sectors
The existence of the informal sector
The relation between the four sectors shows
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Over the past century, the provision of social welfare has changed drastically in both the recipients of this welfare care and the scale of social protection services. This evolution is mainly due to the development of welfare states. In the 1910s and '20s the growing of movements as trade union movements or Labour Party in Britain has enlightened and sort of created a conflict between the poor working class and the industrial and powerful class. The state intervention was seen as the only efficient solution in order to protect the workers against the industrial capitalism. The provision of social welfare is commonly linked with the notion of welfare state. However, the state is not the only entity which can respond efficiently to social problems. There is a mixed economy of welfare and according to Alcock we can distinguish four sectors that make up the provision of social welfare. In addition to the state, we can find the private market, the voluntary sector and the "informal welfare" that is, the family, the neighbourhood, etc. This welfare mix takes a different form based on the time period during which and to the country in which it has been developed. On the one hand, the development of the welfare state in Britain is, for example, mainly a consequence of the Beveridge Report in 1942 stating that it was time to "remove the five giant evils that had haunted the country before the war : disease, idleness, ignorance, squalor and want". This conception was challenged - quite unsuccessfully - by Margaret Thatcher afterwards. Nowadays the concept of welfare state is being questioned and more than ever the boundaries between the different sectors in this welfare mix are blurred. On the other hand, in the United States the provisions of social welfare are in the largest part dedicated to the private sector whereas in the Scandinavian Countries the state takes a greater part in the social welfare provision.