This article engages in a dynamic comparative analysis of key labour market reforms in Denmark, Sweden and Finland from the early 1990s to the 2000s. During this period traditional egalitarian and collectivist elements of Nordic social insurance were reshaped by workfare reforms. The ways in which the principle of workfare changed the content of Nordic collectivist social insurance are compared along five dimensions. According to the interpretation suggested in the light of the comparison, the traditional egalitarian and collectivist Nordic social order has not been replaced by an increased scope for autonomy. Instead, workfare reforms have contributed to an understanding of obligations in terms of obedience and to the establishment of social order through control mechanisms. The degree of changes varies, so that Swedish and Danish workfare reforms appear to have retained some of the traditional egalitarian aspects. As a contrast, Finnish reforms appear to be toughest for individual benefit recipients introducing strong control of unwanted behaviour.
The UK is distinctive in having the most liberal market-oriented welfare system in the European Union and the most majoritarian governmental system, capable of rapid and decisive action. The 1997 New Labour government abandoned the traditional neo-Keynesian/social democratic approach of the party and embarked on a programme of market-oriented welfare state reform. This reflects many aspects of policy direction (pursued more gradually and under different circumstances) elsewhere in Europe, and advocated in the European Employment Strategy and OECD proposals. The UK is thus a suitable test case to assess the impact of a new departure in welfare policy: welfare ends through market means. This paper shows that New Labour has achieved real successes in mobilising the workforce, broadening opportunities for women and reducing poverty. However, the approach faces intractable problems in stimulating and regulating private providers of welfare, and limitations in the extent to which it is able to reduce poverty among those of working age who are not in the labour market. These result from the incompatibility between welfare and market objectives: secure, adequate incomes for all, and work incentives for citizens and market freedom for providers.
This article reviews the policy process behind recent welfare reforms and considers the policy styles used in a broad range of social policy areas on the basis of interviews with leading policy actors. It argues that a mix of policy-making methods is currently being used, ranging from the classic top-down approach, through the use of external commissions to a more bottom-up approach, where policy is to a large degree designed by external groups. The type of policy and the power relations between key actors and the government determine the approach. Indeed, this shows a different perception of British policy-making, as the inclusive approach contrasts sharply with the traditional directive Westminster model.
Through analysis of the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD)'s recommendations to reform Nordic public and economic policy, this article seeks to assess the OECD's influence on Nordic politics. OECD recommendations are placed at the juncture of internationally acknowledged ideas and national traditions -thus being potentially useful for national policy-makers trying to deal with this tension. During the post-war period the Nordic countries found an original combination of international ideas and national traditions, involving a combination of economic efficiency and social equality. The OECD acknowledges this tradition in various ways but seeks to reform Nordic public policy according to a different, and in many ways opposing logic. OECD recommendations for Nordic countries typically include lower income taxes, lower levels of social security benefits, individual level wage setting, more relaxed employment protection legislation, an increase of the labour supply and a balanced budget. In spite of existing evidence of regime stability, it is not possible to exclude OECD influence on Nordic public and economic policy as past reforms correspond in many ways to these recommendations. This, in turn, raises the question of the democratic legitimacy of the way in which reforms are prepared.
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