This chapter reports on a cross-national exploration on manifestations and drivers of exclusion from social relations, in rural Britain and Belgium. Each study was composed of a quantitative and qualitative phase. The quantitative phases operationalised exclusion from social relations using existing datasets within each country while both qualitative phases comprised life history interviews with older people. The results demonstrate that although social relations are vital for several reasons (e.g. health and care, practical support in times of poverty, safety), older participants in both countries regularly face exclusion from social relations (e.g. feelings of loneliness, isolation, “bad” social relations). The results show a strong interrelationship between exclusion from social relations and other domains of exclusion (e.g. economic and material exclusion). In terms of drivers of exclusion from social relations, the life stories revealed micro risk factors (e.g. marital status and gender), exo (e.g. being remote and rural living) and macro drivers of exclusion from social relations (e.g. inadequate social security and population change). The conclusion discusses the main limitations of this cross-national exploration and offers some tangible policy and further research recommendations.

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Cet article examine le parcours de vie des personnes âgées à faibles revenus en Suède et en Belgique, selon une approche comparative des politiques sociales de ces deux pays. L’étude porte sur les conditions de vie actuelles de ces personnes âgées, ainsi que sur les événements et parcours à l’origine de leur faible niveau de ressources. Une analyse secondaire qualitative de 49 récits de vie a permis d’identifier cinq parcours menant à un faible niveau de revenus, signe de la relation complexe entre parcours de vie et précarité économique. Les divers événements de la vie interagissent fortement entre eux, soulignant la nécessité de développer les interventions sociales afin d’apporter un soutien coordonné aux personnes confrontées à de multiples difficultés tout au long de leur vie et dans différents contextes sociaux. Les conclusions de l’étude soulignent également la nécessité de pousser plus avant les recherches sur les processus sociaux responsables des situations de faibles revenus chez les personnes âgées dans différents types d’État-providence.

Sweden is among those countries traditionally ranked highly in international comparisons of children's well-being and conditions for development. However, in recent years a development towards greater inequality in health has occurred. The general welfare model's capacity to safeguard both the universal provisions for the general population's standard of living and targeted support for those in need has also been doubted. System-related deficiencies such as collaborative breakdown, inadequate effectiveness and lack of clarity concerning how to uphold the best interests of the child are cited as examples, and several calls for policy reformations have been raised. The Scottish model for supporting child well-being, Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) has garnered keen interest in Sweden and is an example of how ideas for policy reformation flow both between and within countries, and thereby undergo more or less radical transformations. This article analyses the first-phase implementation of GIRFEC in a Swedish county. It emerges that although there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the original model, the intention is to implement an adapted version. What similarities and differences would be realized is not clarified from the start, but is left for the implementation process. The positive reception is understood as arising from a perceived familiarity of the model, based on current practice and discourse. GIRFEC can therefore be regarded as part of a pendulum swing in which ideas are borrowed and lent between countries and contexts.