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Is There A Welfare State Crisis?
A Comparative Study of French Social Policy
Robert Boyer, May 2002 The paper proposes a theoretical investigation of the impact of welfare on the growth regimes, inspired by new growth theory and recent advances in institutional analysis. It shows the complementarity between welfare states and Fordist growth patterns. The reasons for the so-called "welfare state crisis" are identified and the evidence of systematic international comparisons used to evaluate their relevance. The French welfare system appears less state dominated than jointly managed by firms and unions. This historical pattern explains many contemporary features (the bulk of the financing is by firms, the segmentation of regimes, the absence of social contribution revolts from the citizens) and the move towards a hybridization of a basic Bismarckian financing system with some Beveridgian principles. Recent trends do not point towards privatization; on the contrary the state has implemented a form of health care planning and created a new social tax in order to sustain an unabated demand for welfare. The paper draws up taxonomy of contemporary welfare states, and suggests a series of scenarios for both France and European countries. Click here for full document in PDF |
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Updated by LD. Approved by GS. Last update: 12 June 2002.