Rationales and Ideas behind

1
Rationales and Ideas behind Workfare Reforms in
Denmark, Sweden and Finland since the early 1990s

• Johannes Kananen
• Centre for Nordic Studies
• University of Helsinki

2
Background

• Theoretical perspective on workfare reforms in
  the Nordic countries they indicate a
  renegotiation of the post-war collectivistic
  social order, but the question remains open
  whether policies are more enabling or
  constraining
• Methodological approach top-down policy paradigm
  analysis of legislative documents (legislative
  acts and government bills) concerning key
  legislation, analysed in a comparative and
  dynamic manner
• Main argument this approach is needed in order
  to take a critical distance from central
  administrative categories and also before a more
  grass root level analysis may be carried out

3
Key dimensions

• Shared impulse towards reform, but fundamental
  differences in the three countries
• Dynamics and contexts vary most importantly, the
  level of unemployment has been different during
  reforms which affects management of
  insider/outsider divisions
• Level of discretion left for front-line
  authorities in the legislation varies Denmark
  and Sweden high, Finland low
• Formulation of rights and obligations varies
  between the three countries
• View on benefit recipients and the way they are
  expected to behave varies between countries
• These dimensions are important when assessing
  underlying ideas, aims and rationales

4
Key results

• Finnish workfare reforms best characterised as
  aiming to control unwanted behaviour among
  benefit recipients also an underlying aim to
  establish an insider/outsider division within the
  labour force in order to maximise the supply of
  labour
• Danish workfare reforms can be characterised to
  create a new deal for the unemployed clearly
  established rights and obligations aim to treat
  uninsured and insured workers similarly and thus
  to counteract insider/outsider divisions
• Swedish workfare reforms can be understood as
  increasing the obligations of income support
  recipients aim to treat uninsured and insured
  workers similarly and thus to counteract
  insider/outsider divisions

5
Conclusions

• More legislative activity does not necessarily
  mean wider social rights, question remains are
  the policies more enabling than constraining?
• Sweden and Denmark appear more similar regarding
  the identified key dimensions gt aim to
  counteract insider/outsider dimensions, whereas
  Finland stands out as a case of its own
• Workfare reforms represent political effort to
  translate the international reform impulse into
  national traditions and policies, here Denmark
  and Sweden have negotiated a compromise between
  traditional Nordic policies whereas Finland has
  clearly broken up with the policy tradition