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Authors:Sebastian Sirén Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. Economic growth is commonly seen as the main driver of poverty reduction in a global perspective, but its impact varies substantially across cases. Meanwhile, the literature has been relatively silent regarding the role of social policy in explaining this variation. In light of an emerging attention to redistribution and social protection in promoting inclusive growth, this article analyses how government cash transfer systems moderate the effect of economic growth on both relative and absolute child poverty across low- and middle-income countries. The empirical analyses compare trends within 16 countries, using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), by means of descriptive analyses and multivariate regression techniques. Findings show that both economic growth and the expansion of government transfer schemes were associated with falling absolute child poverty rates. While the association between growth and relative child poverty was on average more muted, the analyses found growth to be related to reductions in relative child poverty when combined with sufficiently extensive government transfers, while the opposite effect was found in the face of inadequate levels of transfers. The study provides a framework for studying interrelated effects of national institutions and economic processes, with the findings highlighting the fruitfulness of including indicators on social protection policies when inquiring about enabling conditions for inclusive growth in a development context. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-11-18T11:43:14Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231205376
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Authors:Christof Lammer Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. The relationship between labour and social policy is at the heart of the social question. Scholars often treat this link as either a causal relation out there or a conceptual connection in policy makers’ minds. This article examines its sociotechnical materiality instead. It follows anthropologists who ask how bureaucrats practice policy and scholars of science and technology studies who explore how social and technical aspects are interrelated in knowledge processes. China studies has suggested that the minimum livelihood guarantee (dibao) was originally designed as a market-oriented response to transformations of labour such as mass layoffs, peasant proletarianisation and associated unrest but later revamped to only combat extreme poverty. Ethnographic insights into dibao policy in a village in Sichuan show how its designed links to labour were erased and transformed through different methods of bureaucratic targeting, as well as expectations about the bureaucratic ability to know. For a time, dibao was even integrated into alternative rural development projects aimed at decommodification. Studying social policy as a knowledge process uncovers how its sociotechnical links to labour reconfigure it as an answer to the social question. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-11-03T11:39:32Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231210158
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Authors:Robin Schulze Waltrup Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. Eco-social policy research has emerged to address the interconnected and escalating pressures of social reproduction, climate change, and biodiversity loss, which require structural and behavioural changes for environmental and social welfare. However, conceptual ambiguity persists in applying an eco-social policy perspective to empirical research. After reviewing the interconnections and tensions of environmental and social policy, this article proposes a novel eco-social policy typology to assess policy discourses for their eco-social potential and to imagine different pathways towards sustainable policy-integration. The typology discusses four perspectives: Green Economy, Green Keynesianism, Recomposing Consumption and Production, and Degrowth. Each perspective is analysed based on its approach towards economic growth, the extent to which it appreciates public modes of governance, and its potential to either perpetuate existing institutionalised policymaking frameworks or lead to transformative shifts. This typology fosters constructive debates on integrating environmental and social policy, facilitates empirical research on policy proposals’ eco-social potential and offers guidance in evaluating policy discourses through an eco-social lens. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-10-24T11:13:41Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231205777
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Authors:John Berten, Anna Wolkenhauer Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. This introduction sets the scene for the five papers of the special issue on ‘Reflexivity in Global Social Policy’. It argues that a reflexivity lens can deepen a self-critical assessment of the field and its boundaries, and contribute to more conceptual and analytical nuance. The introduction reviews existing approaches that reflect on the key building blocks of the field – ideas, terminology, and theory – and makes a case for addressing the porous boundaries between scholarship and practice. It subsequently suggests the two notions of perspectivity and performativity to inform further reflexive analyses, before introducing the five papers and five forum contributions that constitute this issue. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-10-14T11:08:11Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231202602
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Authors:E. Fouksman, H. J. Dawson Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. How does crisis open-up – or foreclose – new possibilities for alternative economic futures' This article explores the possibilities afforded by crisis for reconfiguring redistribution and welfare in contexts where access to income via work is increasingly tenuous. To do so, we turn to South Africa, where we examine the unfolding political possibilities and support for more generous and universal forms of social protection and (re)distribution during and after the Covid pandemic. In particular, we analyse visions of alternative redistributory policies both from above and from below, via original empirical data on the views of low-income inner-city residents in Johannesburg; interviews with government actors and civil society activists; and a close reading of media and policy discourse around social protection between 2020 and 2023. We argue while framing Covid as a crisis forced the state to embrace less workerist approaches to social protection, the very fact that new policies were rooted in an emergency context may have blunted more radical redistributory visions. This argument is underscored by the vacillations and internal contradictions of the South African government’s expansion of its social grant system, as well as by the delimited scope of grassroots demands for more generous or unconditional economic support during and after the pandemic. We make the case that ‘crisis temporalities’ – and the temporality of work and welfare more generally – is critical to understanding the lack of political will and popular demands for more radical forms of redistribution and economic security beyond work. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-30T12:17:15Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201493
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Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-30T07:04:18Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201949
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Authors:Heidi Matthews, Luann Good Gingrich, Joel Ong Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-27T12:28:13Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201948
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Authors:Katja Hujo Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-27T12:25:53Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201939
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Authors:Rosina Foli Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-25T12:40:07Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201946
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Authors:John Clarke Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-25T12:37:07Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201944
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Authors:Daniel Béland Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-23T12:51:58Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231201938
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Authors:Bettina Mahlert Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. This article addresses practices of collective self-reflexivity by discussing feedbacks related to an Article on basic human needs. As more people came in to provide feedback, it became more interdisciplinary and moved from a purely academic towards a more policy-oriented view. The article illustrates how scholars with different backgrounds approach an issue (basic needs) that is highly relevant for Global Social Policy. Three aspects of collective reflexivity are addressed: discussions related to internal or external boundaries of GSP; reflections on disciplinary resources, such as theories and methods; and discussions that performatively establish, preserve or undermine collectivity. Collective reflexivity of these three aspects ranged from critical and concise discussions of fundamental conceptual issues to indifference to creative application of the basic needs concept. The basic needs concept was controversial, yet at the same time the process of collectivity was productive. The article concludes by asking how collective reflexivity can be carried out so as to be progressive. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-15T12:38:15Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231195292
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Authors:Lauri Heimo Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. In Chile, a conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme was established by a left-wing government in 2004 and then re-established by a right-wing coalition in 2014. Despite some revisions and adjustments, Ingreso Ético Familiar maintained the core characteristics of its predecessor Chile Solidario. This reflected a wider trend of CCT adoption by an ideologically diverse group of governments. Against this background, it is obvious that the CCT policy model appeals to political decision-makers on a wide scale, or at least makes it acceptable to them. However, questions remain: how was this model embraced by the ideologically opposing coalitions in Chile' And more broadly: how do CCTs appeal to such a wide range of policymakers' The article explores the argumentation of Chilean Members of Parliament and examines how the ideological and political consensus around these programmes was discursively attained. Through this case, the article also sheds light on how domestic policy dynamics interact with global policy processes. The analysis revealed points of confluence, which serve to illustrate the CCT model’s capacity to convey different meanings to different people – allowing it to be interpreted to fit a variety of different perspectives. I define this quality as discursive malleability and argue that it is an important quality not only in explaining how a policy model can resonate among or appeal to such a wide range of policymakers, but also in the process where a global model is adopted in a country and becomes part of the domestic political debate. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-05T11:40:25Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231197218
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Authors:Leszek Morawski, Mahmut Zeki Akarsu Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, necessitating adjustments in tax and benefit policies. However, the eventual outcome of these modifications remains uncertain. To evaluate possible changes, we conducted a comparative analysis of current instruments in CEE countries vis-a-vis Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Our research discovered that tax and benefit systems in both CEE and Scandinavian countries are built on the same foundational principles, yet differ significantly in their specific solutions and approaches. Notably, benefits systems in CEE countries are considerably more intricate and inclined toward means-tested benefits and specialized instruments dedicated solely to individuals with disabilities. We posit that changes arising from the convention’s implementation will streamline the benefits system, incorporating more generalized instruments with disability added as supplementary eligibility conditions or income parameters. The velocity of this transformation will be influenced by the pace of economic growth, as evidenced by the strong positive correlation between disability expenditure’s proportion in gross domestic product and the European Union countries’ level of economic development.JEL classification D61, H51, O52 Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-09-02T08:18:30Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231197216
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Authors:Stephen Devereux Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. A growing literature explains the diffusion of social protection policies and, in particular, cash transfer programmes throughout Africa since the early 2000s as a paradigmatic policy transfer process. Most contributions emphasise the central role of transnational development agencies in this process, which is typically characterised as ‘donor-driven’. This article argues that individual agents, notably consultants who were commissioned by agencies to perform various roles in persuading African governments to introduce social protection, played a dual role insofar as many also shaped the positions of the agencies that hired them. They achieved both by deploying a range of influencing strategies associated with policy entrepreneurship, such as rhetorical persuasion, demonstration, and advocacy events. Other tactics, identified by the author from in-depth interviews conducted with 26 influential agents, include ‘piggybacking’, ‘Trojan horse’, and ‘accelerator events’. Although these agents believe in the value of their work, some expressed concern about their role in driving policy changes in African countries that appear to reflect the ideas and preferences of the international community, rather than aligning with the policy priorities of national governments. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-08-24T11:47:55Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231194897
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Authors:Richard Freeman Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. How might we engage global or transnational practitioners in talking and thinking about policy' This article offers a particular kind of practitioner, already concerned with advocacy, engagement and organizational development, a way of thinking about what they do and, in turn, what policy is and does and how it is made. It presents a research-based, narrative account of a policy officer visiting a country for the first time, as the trip – and the policy work on which the officer has embarked – is reconstructed in conversation with a professional mentor. This dialogue generates a reflexive self-awareness in the protagonist-practitioner, and the reporting of it prompts a similar reflexivity in the reader: The reader-practitioner learns vicariously, by watching a counterpart learn. A supplementary discussion engages with the very different presumed academic readership of this journal, reflecting on the credibility and validity of the story as a mode of academic writing and on its design and form as pedagogy. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-08-01T05:00:04Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231190364
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Authors:Tara Patricia Cookson, Nina Ebner, Yardain Amron, Kritika Kukreja Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. The negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have motivated an unprecedented level of global advocacy for gender-responsive and gender-transformative social protection systems that buffer individuals from shocks and vulnerabilities. This turn to a systems approach reflects growing recognition that the presence of one or two social protection programmes targeting women does not guarantee that they are protected throughout the course of their lives and over a wide range of contingencies. Relative to the high levels of interest, however, very little empirical evidence exists about what a gender-responsive or transformative social protection system entails in practice. This article departs from existing literature that focuses on the design and impact of discreet social protection instruments, to present a ‘state of the evidence’ on gender and social protection systems. Drawing on the results of a phased scoping review of academic and policy literature spanning various fields, the article charts the defining features of the existing evidence base, summarizes what is known and identifies pathways for future research. In addition to scholarly analysis, the article offers a comprehensive view of the evidence for policymakers, practitioners, movement leaders and funders working on policy problems from a gender perspective. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-06-20T12:07:53Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231180507
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Authors:Ania Plomien, Gregory Schwartz Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. The historical link between labour and welfare is increasingly considered in the transnational register, largely because labour mobilities demand a rethinking of nation-based social protection systems. Transnational labour mobilities also illuminate other dimensions of boundary-crossing, including formality–informality, citizenship–non-citizenship and production–reproduction. These additional considerations call for going beyond the problem of transnational welfare access. We argue that the prism of social reproduction enables such a rethinking of the labour–welfare relationship. In this article, we conceptualise an expanded notion of welfare as flourishing social reproduction, in contradistinction to the principle of welfare deriving primarily from paid work and labour market participation. We apply this theorisation of welfare to our qualitative case study of the experiences and interests of Polish and Ukrainian migrant workers in Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom employed in care provision, food production and housing construction sectors. In the geopolitical setting of uneven and combined Europe, embodying high levels of differentiation together with advanced transnational social protection, we explore the role of differentiation of migrants in labour markets (along work, migration and citizenship axes) and the extent to which transnational mobility facilitates the improvement of social reproduction. While the low-waged labour of Polish and Ukrainian men and women working in care, food and housing furnishes their own and local workers’ social reproduction needs, we find that migrant workers’ welfare as flourishing social reproduction remains wanting, even for those with already privileged access to the current ‘gold-standard’ transnational social protection offered by the EUs freedoms of movement framework. Welfare remains centred on individualised paid work logic, leaving a vast range of needs unmet and work and workers excluded, bearing implications for prevalent transnational social protection efforts. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-06-09T07:31:48Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231178895
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Authors:Charles Fonchingong Che Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. Crafting a viable social justice–based policy is touted as critical for revamping social development in emerging economies. There is little understanding of social justice and forging sustainable relationships for social development through utilization of indigenous know-how. With evidence from local communities in Cameroon, this article explores conceptions of social justice through indigenous know-how and considers their implications for social development, policy and practice. Drawing on empirical data and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants, this case study lays the foundations of what drives social justice and social development, often ‘behind the scenes’. This study ‘unpeels’ the invisible enablers and barriers to social development; a proposed social justice wheel and instruments deployed demonstrates how indigenous knowledge systems and institutions address multifaceted problems. Uppermost on the social justice agenda are issues related to counsel, affective community ties and social cohesion, oral traditions and mores, arbitration of community affairs, and projects of pressing need such as clean water, land disputes, mobilizing local resources in tackling key concerns related to poverty, agricultural practices, food security and climate change. Although due process and traditional diligence are harder to maintain due to underhand arrangements and often corrupt leadership, communities are reframing social justice to build capability on an incremental scale. The study illuminates the centrality and policy conundrum of fostering people-centred development. Harnessing indigenous agency, in synergy with modern governance institutions such as social services, to bolster social development is a prerequisite for enhancing a heightened sense of human rights and lessening inequality. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-05-02T06:46:18Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181231170532
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Authors:Justyna Bandola-Gill, Sotiria Grek, Marlee Tichenor Abstract: Global Social Policy, Ahead of Print. The production of data and numbers has become the key mechanism of both knowing and governing global public policy. And yet, processes of quantification are inherently paradoxical: from expectations of technocratic rationality and political usability of producing ‘global’ numbers that count for ‘local’ politics and needs to practical limitation of measurement and the necessity to work with ‘good enough’ data. This begs a question – how do these competing epistemic, political and value orders manifest themselves through the work that experts do' In this article, we explore the problem by focussing on reflexivity as a way for experts (primarily those working in key International Organisations) to make sense of and tame the tensions inherent in their work. Through rich qualitative exploration of over 80 semi-structured interviews with experts working in the areas of poverty, education and statistical capacity development, we contribute to debates in the social studies of quantification by arguing that reflexivity is not just a mental process that experts engage in but rather an important resource allowing them to make sense of the contradictions inherent in their work and to mobilise political and ethical considerations in the technocratic process of producing numbers. We identify three types of reflexivity: (1) epistemic reflexivity – regarding the quality of data and its epistemic status as reflecting the reality; (2) care-ful reflexivity – regarding values embedded in data and the duty of care to the populations affected by the measurement and (3) instrumental reflexivity – regarding political rationality and necessary trade-off required to realise political goals. Overall, the article argues that reflexivity becomes an increasingly central expert practice, allowing the transformation of the process of quantification into one of qualification enabling them to attach political attributes and values to data and measurement. Citation: Global Social Policy PubDate: 2023-01-07T06:05:26Z DOI: 10.1177/14680181221145382
Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
