1,721,003 research outputs found
Changing welfare in Southern Europe? Political competition and the evolution of regional minimum income schemes in Italy and Spain
No full textThe lack of a minimum income scheme (MIS) has been one of the main features of the Southern European Model. In recent decades, Italy and Spain have experienced very different developments in this policy field. In Spain, all Autonomous
Communities have introduced MIS, and as a result these programs now cover the entire country. In Italy we observe an inconsistent and somewhat contradictory trajectory, with a number of regions having introduced safety nets, and most of them having subsequently displaced them. How can we explain these divergent policy trajectories, in those two
otherwise similar countries? In order to solve this puzzle, this article departs from the prior literature, which had argued that political competition is not an important factor in this policy field – due to the selective nature of these programs and their limited share of the overall welfare budget. The prior literature also cited as a factor the limited political resources and limited ability to mobilize of (would-be) beneficiaries. Conversely, this paper argues that interest groups preferences and the configuration of the party system are crucial to understand the policy trajectories of regional safety nets
Schemi regionali di reddito minimo tra sviluppi di policy e dinamiche di politics : i casi di Friuli Venezia Giulia e Lazio
No full textMinimum income protection constitutes the weakest front of achievement of the italian welfare state. In the last decade, several attempts at the regional level have been made to depart from the traditional model, but they were frequently followed by policy reversal. Focusing on the cases of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Lazio this article – departing from previous claims of the literature – argues that political competition dynamics are crucial to understand this puzzling and incoherent policy trajectory. In particular, the interaction and political exchange dynamics between social actors – trade unions, faith-based organizations and social movements – and politicians – whose preference are structured by the systemic characteristic of the party system – are considered the crucial variables
La «ricalibratura intergenerazionale» : sviluppi di policy e dinamiche politiche
Full text linkNei paesi del Sud Europa, tradizionalmente, la distribuzione della spesa sociale tendeva ad essere significativamente sbilanciata a favore degli anziani. L’ articolo introduce la nozione di ricalibratura intergenerazionale allo scopo di individuare, e di analizzare, le riforme volte a ri-bilanciare il profilo generazionale del welfare state italiano attraverso l’espansione degli schemi di assistenza sociale – sia in termini di servizi che di trasferimenti monetari – e di riforme sottrattive nel settore pensionistico. In seguito, compara le traiettorie di policy in questi due settori-chiave rispettivamente per i «genitori» e per i «figli» nel periodo che va dalla metà degli anni novanta al 2016. L’analisi porta in primo luogo a sottolineare come l’investimento a favore dei ‘figli’ non abbia sufficientemente bilanciato i tagli e le sottrazioni nel settore pensionistico e, in secondo, a mettere in discussione sia l’idea che gli incentivi di politica interna volti a espandere le misure a favore dei figli siano necessariamente deboli sia il ruolo «facilitante» delle pressioni esterne rispetto alla ricalibratura intergenerazionale.Traditionally, Italy displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of the Italian welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes— both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates theoretically on the political dimension of this policy strategy to advance the hypotheses that domestic politics would prevent the realization of such an agenda, whereas the latter would be favored by a major role of supranational actors, especially the European Union. To test these hypotheses, we systematically analyze policy trajectories in the field of pensions and social assistance in Italy between the mid‐1990s and 2016. This allows, first, to argue that investment in “pro‐children” measures has not adequately balanced the reduction of pro‐parents expenditure and, second, to question the idea that domestic political incentives to expand “pro‐children” policies are necessarily too weak as well as the “enabling” role of external pressures in pursuing intergenerational recalibration
Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe
No full textTraditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates theoretically on the political dimension of this policy strategy, focusing on the implications of the peculiar combination of expansionary and retrenchment reforms, to advance the hypotheses that domestic politics would prevent the realization of such an agenda, whereas the latter would be favored by a major role of supranational actors, especially the European Union. To test these hypotheses, we systematically analyze policy trajectories in the field of pensions and social assistance in Italy and Spain between the mid‐1990s and 2016. This allows, first, to argue that investment in “pro‐children” measures has not adequately balanced the reduction of pro‐parents expenditure and, second, to question the idea that domestic political incentives to expand “pro‐children” policies are necessarily too weak as well as the “enabling” role of external pressures in pursuing intergenerational recalibration
Explaining different trajectories of minimum income schemes : Groups, parties and political exchange in Italy and Spain
No full textThe absence of a minimum income scheme was a key feature of the Southern European Model. In the past 20 years, countries in this cluster have witnessed major changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain, regional safety nets have been introduced which cover the entire country and consolidated over time. Also in Italy, regional programmes were introduced, but they do not diffuse throughout the country and were often subsequently discontinued. How can we explain path departure and divergence in the policy trajectories, in those two otherwise similar countries? To solve those puzzles, this article departs from previous claims about the limited relevance of political competition in this policy field, underlying the crucial role of specific political exchange between social actors and political parties
The Southern European welfare model
No full textA growing corpus of literature has analysed the main features, modes offunctioning as well as the logics of institutional reproduction and change of welfare(and welfare state) arrangements in the four countries clustered in the Southern Eur-opean model of welfare (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). The chapter reviews suchliterature identifying three main phases of welfare state development in the last threedecades: early-1990s–2007; the global crisis and Great Recession 2008–2014; a post-crisis period 2015–2019–characterised by substantially different social challenges,policy responses and underpinning political dynamics. In doing so, it shows that SEwelfare states deeply transformed in the last three decades, and yet maintained somecore features that still differentiate them from the rest of European countries, asadopted reforms have only partially addressed its main weaknesses. Against suchbackdrop, the article outlines the main challenges for existing welfare arrangementsin Southern Europe which mostly relate to: i) the need to fully develop welfareservicesin key policy fields such as childcare, labour market policies, long-term care; ii) re-duce labour market segmentation and welfare dualism(s); iii) reconcile both pensionsand healthcare sustainability with adequacy, and especially equity; iv) possiblechanges in welfare financing in order to effectively pursue these goals
La politica per la famiglia
No full textNel corso dell’ultimo cinquantennio il settore delle politiche per la famiglia in Italia ha conosciuto una profonda trasformazione che ne ha ridisegnato sia le finalità sia le modalità di funzionamento. Adottando una prospettiva storica e comparata, questo capitolo si propone di illustrare l’evoluzione di quest’area di policy dalle origini fino agli sviluppi più recenti, richiamando le sfide che la caratterizzano nello scenario attuale. Al fine di agevolare la comprensione dei paragrafi successivi, il paragrafo 1 introduce i concetti fondamentali per lo studio delle politiche per la famiglia. Nel paragrafo 2 vengono sinteticamente tracciate le linee evolutive del settore dall’«età dell’oro del welfare» (1945-1975), illustrando le diverse traiettorie di sviluppo nel contesto europeo e i
principali modelli di politiche per la famiglia affermatisi in seguito a tali trasformazioni. Il paragrafo 3 si focalizza sul caso italiano, analizzando l’evoluzione delle politiche per la famiglia dalle origini fino agli interventi di riforma più
recenti, i cui risultati vengono esaminati nel paragrafo 4. Gli snodi essenziali
di tali trasformazioni sono inoltre presi in esame in chiave interpretativa nel
paragrafo 5, allo scopo di mettere a fuoco, in una prospettiva politologica, i
fattori e i processi che li hanno condizionati e plasmati. Il paragrafo 6 con-
clude il capitolo proponendo alcune considerazioni circa le sfide che restano
da affrontare per la modernizzazione del settore
Minimum income : the Italian trajectory: one, no one and one hundred thousand minimum income schemes
Full text linkSeveral studies in comparative welfare state research have emphasized the absence of a proper anti-poverty strategy and especially the lack of a minimum income scheme (MIS) in Italy; others focused on the failed attempt to introduce a national MIS in the late 1990s; while some scholars investigated the existence of several (yet often meagre) local anti-poverty programs. The Pirandellian title One, No One and One Hundred Thousand looks therefore as a suitable metaphor able to capture the nature of the Italian anti-poverty policy scenario. Against this backdrop, though constrained by austerity measures and permanent lack of resources, social assistance gained more salience over the last years and a closer look at its transformation reveals that, albeit timidly, things are moving both at the national and
regional level. Building on this framework, the paper has a twofold purpose. First, it aims at presenting the developments occurred in the Italian anti-poverty strategy during the last two decades. Second, the paper provides an overview of the latest trends in terms of poverty and material deprivation in comparative perspective, that—in the light of the current economic crisis—call for a rapid modernisation of the national social safety net of last resort
La politics «forte» del welfare fiscale-occupazionale in Italia
No full textThe article focuses on the recent evolution of occupational and fiscal welfare in Italy
by shedding light on some subtle, yet important, recent transformations of the Italian
welfare state. First, it provides up-to-date information on the introduction of legislative
changes in this policy field. Second, it investigates the policy-making processes that lead
to such relevant policy changes, by focusing especially on the role of employers, trade
unions, and policymakers, along with the relevant political exchange dynamics. The
analysis shows that beyond having a specific distributional profile, these measures have
been useful instruments to acquire the consensus among particular interest groups in a
context of budgetary austerity, and stringent public expenditure control
The Italian welfare reform trajectory in turbulent times. Income support, family and pension policy during the XVIII parliamentary term
No full textAbsolutely exceptional under many respects, the XVIII parliamentary term has represented a peculiar terrain for welfare reform. On the one side, over the past five years, three highly heterogeneous governments have alternated in power, supported by different coalitions, each resulting from demanding negotiations and alliances between parties, within a moving political landscape. On the other side, the legislature has been heavily affected by the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 health emergency and its harsh social and economic consequences. Despite the complexity of the overall scenario and the internal frictions experienced by the three short-lived cabinets, since 2018, important reforms were enacted in key welfare sectors, marking in some cases a break with the previous institutional legacy. The paper aims at critically examining the trajectory of welfare reforms during the last parliamentary term, shedding light on how they have been shaped through time by a combination of external turbulences and political constraints. Adopting an historical institutionalist approach, the analysis focuses on the transformations occurred in key social policy areas - anti-poverty policy and income support, family policy and pensions - in order to examine the major innovations and shifts occurred under the three cabinets, featuring such diverse electoral bases and ideological stances
- …
