“Machinery” or “spirit” of the welfare state: institutional change as institutional inertia

Author:

Frericks Patricia

Abstract

Purpose Much has been said about institutional change and the forms it can take, whether it is abrupt or incremental, path breaking or path dependent. This strand of research is highly relevant in times of welfare institutional reforms and changes. A puzzle, however, remains, and it concerns the empirical phenomena that there might be institutional inertia despite seeming change. One reason for this remaining puzzle is, as argued here, that the ongoing theoretical reflections have a certain blind spot: “institutional constellations” and their characteristics. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to analyse the “layering” of a welfare institution which results in an institutional constellation. Design/methodology/approach Such newly established institutional constellations, though they look roughly similar and are formed of comparable ingredients, can differ profoundly between themselves. This could be due to the fact that the characteristics of institutions depend on the regulating principles (the “spirit”) implemented in them. To validate this hypothesis, the author analyses in depth the institutional layering in two traditionally different social protection systems: the Dutch and the German pension systems. Findings In both cases, as the author shows, the traditional regulating principles are also implemented in the newly established institutional constellation, so that in the end pension systems do not change but differ as they did before. Originality/value The empirical phenomenon of institutional inertia despite seeming change has not yet been explicitly addressed. This is the case since the ongoing theoretical reflections have a certain blind spot: “institutional constellations” and their characteristics which are the focus of this paper.

Publisher

Emerald

Subject

General Economics, Econometrics and Finance,Sociology and Political Science

Reference46 articles.

1. Patterns of institutional change in minimum income protection in Sweden and Germany;Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy,2014

2. Antolin, P., Payet, S. and Yermo, J. (2012), “Coverage of private pension systems: evidence and policy options”, No. 20, OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, OECD Publishing, Paris.

3. Aysan, M. (2012), “Pension regimes, gender and generational inequalities. The persistence of institutional differences in ageing postindustrial democracies”, in Vanhuysse, P. and Goerres, A. (Eds), Ageing Populations in Post-Industrial Democracies. Comparative Studies of Policies and Politics, Routledge, London, pp. 106-126.

4. Berner, F. (2011), “New private pensions in Germany: a pension market or a branch of the welfare state? Contested regulatory issues”, in Leisering, L. (Ed.), The New Regulatory State. Regulating Pensions in Germany and the UK, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 127-149.

Cited by 8 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3