Social Policy

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Social Policy
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Wrap Up VAW

• Concluding observations
• Tremendous change over time- it still continues-
  do these policy shifts make a difference in
  womens lives?
• US Canada Australia still seem to be policy
  leaders
• Not much recognition of different needs for women
  of different racial, ethnic groups (US, Can,
  Aust) Legal reform and service provision for
  victims
• Not much preventative policy
• Some public education initiatives-narrowly
  focussed on violence
• No policies focused on sexual equality,
  empowerment etc in general attacking womens
  dependence, devaluation

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Social PolicyAnti-poverty and inequality policy

• Compare Six Countries Different policy patterns
  What sticks out in your mind?

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Key Concepts

• Public assistance/means testing
• social insurance/entitlement
• Policy tools
• Transfers
• Subsidies
• Tax expenditures

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Policy Patterns

• US Controvery over spending from beginning
  Means-tested programs
• Japan post-war policy development
  means-testing expansion in 1990s
• Germany pronatalist family policies
  universalist recent cutbacks
• France generous social benefits universal
  failed cutbacks (no weak clients?)
• UK class divisions weaker welfare state mixed-
  cutbacks under thatcher
• Italy Universalistic (fascist roots?) EU
  pressures to cutback- pol backlash

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Cross-National trends

• Universalist policies in continental countries
  means tested in Anglo-american and Japan
• Universalist policies seem to do better at
  combatting poverty- they are giving way to
  means-testing and cutbacks
• Why?
• Globalization
• Demographics
• Future?

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Explanations

• Cultural- Families of Nations
• Economic
• Logic of Industrialization-convergence
• Reverse-richer countries spend less
• Short term economic probs-Unemp
• International econ env-competition
• Political
• Parties
• Interest group competition (weak clients)
• Institutional- federalism parliamentary v.pres.

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