The Norwegian welfare state

Olav Helge Angell16.2.2010

’Welfare’: Allardt’s three dimensions

• ”To have”: refers to physical and material needs• ”To love”: refers to social relations• ”To be”: refers to a meaningful place in society,

psychological, cultural and political needs.Erik Allardt (1975) Dimensions of welfare in a comparative Scandinavian study. Helsinki.

Types of welfare agents and idealtypical characteristics

Type of agent RationalityFamily CareVoluntary organisations

Neighbourly love, altruism, self-help

Commercial enterprises

Market rationality, profit motive

Public sector Correct procedures and decions based on legal authority

The idea of the "welfare state"• An ideal model: "welfare state“: where the state accepts

responsibility for the provision of comprehensive and universal welfare for its citizens

• State welfare: "welfare provided by the state“, the main use in the USA (“welfare society” – “welfare state”)

• Social protection: social protection may not delivered by the state at all, but by a combination of independent, voluntary and government services. These countries are still usually thought of as "welfare states“(“welfare society” – “welfare state”).

Welfare state as an ideal model”A welfare state is a state in which organized power is deliberately used (through policies and administration) in an effort to modify the play of market forces in at least three directions – first, by guaranteeing individuals and families a minimum income irrespective of the market value of their work or their property; second, by narrowing the extent of insecurity by enabling individuals and families to meet certain ‘social contingencies’ (for example, sickness, old age and unemployment) which lead otherwise to individual and family crises; and third, by ensuring that all citizens without distinction of status or class are offered the best standards available in relation to certain agreed range of social services.”

Asa Briggs (1961) “The welfare state in historical perspective”. In European journal of sociology, nr. 2, 1961

Three dimensions

• a guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income (money);

• social protection in the event of insecurity (money);

• provision of services at the best level possible (services).

Perspectives on the Norweigan welfare state: the welfare state as a

• moral project (the poor)• cultural project (the nation, common values)• social project (integration)• political project (democracy, participation)• economic project (growth, employment)

Normative basis of the Norwegian welfare state

• equality• justice• solidarity• freedom

Types of programmes in the welfare system

• Universally based programmes (e.g. social security, health services, family allowance)

• Needs-based programmes (e.g. social assistance)

The most important instruments in welfare policy

• Transfer of money (unemployment benefits, sick benefits, social assistance)

• Service provision (health services, care services, child protection services)

Perceptions of the state/government

Don’t steal!The government

hates competition.

Welfare regime (Esping-Andersen)

A welfare regime is defined by the relation between politics and markets, or between state, market and households, as the institutionalised arrangements used by different societies to provide work and welfare.

Esping-Andersen’s typology of welfare regimes

• Liberal model [residual]• Conservative (corporatist) model

[achievement-performance]• Social democratic model [institutional]

Esping-Andersen’s models in contextRegime/ model

Countries Characteristics Political context

The liberal model

UK, USA, Japan, Switzerland

Low levels of compensation, needs-based, rights require long-term contributions

Relatively weak left wing, relatively strong right wing, low “trade union density”

The social democratic model

Nordic countries, the Netherlands

Universal access to provisions, equal access independent of status, occupations,

Relatively strong left wing, relatively weak right wing high “trade union density”

The conser-vative model

Germany, France

Access depends on involvement in the labour market/work and income

Relatively strong left and right wings, relatively low “trade union density”

The Nordic model:characteristics:• the social security system is comprehensive; social rights are

institutionalised; arrangements are based on solidarity coupled with universalism

alternatively:• the goal is a set of egalitarian institutions which provide the poor

with access to a minimum standard of living and social services, lead those who would otherwise be poor close to the general standards of society, reduce the need for privately organised charity, and facilitate the redistribution of income and other resources

Basic characteristics of the general social security system

• in general refers to a contract between the state and the individual,

• allocation in principle independent of whether the individual has contributed or not, independent of gender,

• without a clear insurance principle (in – out),• aims to provide basic security, a minimum standard of

living to all who fulfill given criteria, • most types of provision apply to able-bodied persons

(employable age).

Division of responsibilities and duties in the welfare state

• National level: the parliament as law-making body; ministries as executive bodies

• Middle level: health care regional units responsible for planning and provision of specialised health care; dental services, secondary education

• Local level (municipalities): health promotion, primary health care, care of elderly, handicapped people, social work, kindergarten and primary school,

The scope of the welfare state

• A large public sector• A system of “full employment” and a high labour

market rate for women,• A wide-embracing system of more or less universal

rights,• A residual system of social assistance, and • A comparatively strong element of vertical re-

distribution

The work approach to welfare by the government

• A policy of full employment • Increasing deficits and internal demand during

periods of recession in order to maintain a low unemployment level (Keynes)

• Active labour market policy, where unemployed workers have had to participate in education and training schemes of different kinds

• Active commitment in industrial policy

The National Insurance Scheme• is the very core of the Norwegian welfare system. Aims• to provide financial security by ensuring income and

compensating for certain costs during unemployment, pregnancy and childbirth, for one-parent childcare, care of the elderly and in the event of death

• to help equalise incomes and living standards, during the lifetime of individuals and groups of persons

• promote self-support and the best possible daily self- care for each individual.

• Membership is mandatory and universal.

The health care system• is built on the principle of equal access to services• the Ministry of Health has the responsibility of

implementing the policy at a regional level through the health care enterprises

• voluntary sector health agencies such as the Red Cross and the church-based agencies, are fully embedded in the system

• the health care enterprises assume responsibility for the planning and operating of the hospital sector

• primary health care is the responsibility of the municipalities

Social care• Social care includes social welfare services, care for

the elderly, the disabled and primary care for psychiatric patients, for alcoholics and drug addicts

• the municipalities have had increasing responsibility for providing health and social care services

• basic principle of care for the elderly and disabled is that services and individualised support should be arranged in ways that enable care in people’s home communities,

• they should have the opportunity to live in their own home for as long as possible

The family in the welfare system• the mutual family responsibility removed with the the old

age pension system in 1936: means-tested individual pension, based only on the individual income, irrespective of children’s income

• until 1973 students’ access to loans/grants from the Educational Loan Fund depended on parents’ income

• parental benefit scheme enables parents to stay at home with their child during the first year of the child’s life.

• parental leave period in connection with childbirth: parents receive benefits for 52 weeks at 80 per cent pay or 42 weeks with full pay. Parents may choose to divide the period of paid leave between them.

The welfare state in a gender perspective• The participation of women on the Norwegian labour

market is among the highest in Europe• The labour market in Norway is one of the most

segregated along gender lines in the Western world (in construction and entrepreneurial activity, less than 10% of the employees are women)

• General lack of women in decision-making positions in both the private and the public sectors

• The Norwegian Gender Equality Act (1978) prohibits all discrimination on the grounds of gender, is applicable to all areas of society.

• The welfare state has been important for the labour market participation of women.

Challenges• Rapid increase in the number of people receiving

disability pension• Poverty as an issue in Norwegian public debate• An ageing population• The capacity of the hospital system

Policies to combat poverty

• Work line• Social security (social assistance, National

insurance benefits, GMI)• Combination of work and social security

Resources TreatmetnUnequal Equal

Unequal Outcome FormalEqual

Poverty

Work

Social security

Society/culture

Law – politics – economy

Social problems Eonomy

Politics

1) legal provisions / norms2) apparatus / institutions3) resources