8th ESPAnet Conference 2010Social Policy and the Global Crisis:
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8.2. Social Assistance
The current financial crisis increases the need for effective measures of poverty alleviation, such as elaborate systems of social assistance.
The importance of last resort safety nets within the overall configuration of social protection needs to be reconsidered, not only due to developments in the most recent years but also because of changes introduced in the organization of social protection during the era of welfare state stagnation and decline since the mid 1980s. At the moment, worries are raised among scholars and policy makers at both national and EU-level that existing social assistance programs are insufficient to cater for the increased needs of low income households. In order to more comprehensively evaluate existing programs, we need to learn more about how countries have organized social protection for the least fortunate citizens. This stream focuses on the institutional configuration of social assistance and on changes introduced to such last-resort policy programs over the last decades. We particularly welcome papers based on cross-country comparisons, although single country studies can also be accepted. Papers based on social assistance indicators are encouraged, even though more qualitative-oriented studies can also be presented in the stream. Papers including Southern and Eastern European countries are particularly welcome.
Conveners:
| PD Dr. Thomas Bahle | Prof. Kenneth Nelson | |
| Universität Mannheim - Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung (MZES) D – 68131 Mannheim Phone: +49 (0) 621-1812524 E-mail: thomas.bahle@mzes.uni-mannheim.de |
Swedish Institute for Social Resarch, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Phone: +4686747128 E-mail: Kennethn@sofi.su.se |
Friday, 9:00-11:00 Room 07, Session 8.2./A
Presentations
1. Yuri Kazepov and Eduardo Barberis: Social assistance governance in Europe: a bottom-up perspective [abstract] [paper]
2. Renate Minas - Social assistance and local variation - a matter of institutional trajectories? Or what is the impact of decentralization on equity and equality? [abstract] [paper]
3. Susan Kuivalainen: Poor and proud? Empirical analyses on determinants and consequences of non-take-up of Finnish social assistance [abstract] [paper]
4. Karen Nielsen Breidahl: Social assistance schemes in the Scandinavian countries: Changing target groups - different reactions [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
1. Florin Lazar: Comparing social assistance policies in 10 EU countries: the experts’ perspective [abstract] [paper]
Friday, 11:30-13:30 Room 07, Session 8.2./B
Presentations
1. Ive Marx and Natascha Van Mechelen: Social assistance schemes and activation strategies [abstract] [paper]
2. Guillaume Allegre and Karen Jaehrling: Social Assistance schemes and financial incentives to work: tradeoffs and consequences. A European cross-country comparison [abstract] [paper]
3. Thomas Lorentzen, Espen Dahl, Anna Angelin, Timo Kauppinen, Pasi Moisio and Tapio Salonen: Contingent universalism in the Nordic countries: Unemployment and economic security for young adults in Finland, Norway and Sweden [abstract] [paper]
4. Vanessa Hubl: Social assistance for people with disabilities. A comparative study of five European countries [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
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Important dates
17 November 2009 = Call for stream convenors
18 December 2009 = Deadline for stream convenors
25 January 2010 = Call for abstracts
29 March 2010 = Deadline for abstract submission
3 May 2010 = Registration starts
6 June 2010 = Reduced fee application deadline
21 June 2010 24:00 (CET) = Early bird registration deadline
13 August 2010 24:00 (CET) - Deadline for submission of papers
16 August 2010 - Deadline for Registrations and payments
Registration fee is 160 Euros for early birds, 210 Euros for late birds. Central and Eastern European PhD students and professionals can apply for a reduced fee of 60 Euros at info@espanet2010.net until 6th June.
Registration opens on the 3rd May, early bird registration closes on the 21th June at 24:00 (CET).
Theme of the Conference
The theme of ESPAnet’s 2010 Annual Conference is the social consequences of the global financial crisis and its differential impact across Europe. The main questions for consideration include:
How is the crisis affecting already existing inequalities? How are different social classes and groups, especially those in poverty, affected by the crisis? What are the adaptable capacities of the different “worlds of welfare”? Does the intensifying social vulnerability lead to the re-structuring of the programs to provide more security? How far have new programs been developed, and how far have new questions of social policy and welfare been opened up by the crisis?
We would like to broaden the horizon of social policy analysis and see global environmental concerns taken into account: How far are responses to the crisis re-thinking the role of the national and international/global state and the role of the European Union in creating economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societies?