8th ESPAnet Conference 2010Social Policy and the Global Crisis:
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12.2. Local Care Policies and Care Work in Times of Global Crisis
As a consequence of the global crisis of financial markets, particularly also social policies at the local level came under pressure. The local level of social policy has an important role for the provision of childcare and elderly care in European welfare states.
In this field, retrenchment policies can lead to a substantial detoriation of the care provision, particularly in the case that individual social rights to receive childcare and elderly care do not exist or are weak at the level of the national welfare state. As a consequence of the global crisis, municipalities were in part confronted with the need to retrenchment, which has already led or may be expected to lead in part also to reductions in the provision or quality in the field of care. However, it can be assumed that there are substantial differences between countries and within countries. In this stream, the development of local social policies towards childcare and elderly care will be analysed against the background of (possible) changes in times of global crisis.
The focus will be on the following main issues:
- How is the relationship between local care policies and care policies of the level of the national welfare state structured in different welfare states? Is it possible to distinguish different types of local care policy regimes within welfare states, and did the crisis lead to change in the main features of local care policies?
- Under which conditions are local care policies particularly vulnerable to crisis that emerge at the national or international level? And which are the social consequences with regard to social inequality, gender inequality and for ethnic minorites?
- What is the role of employment in the care sector for the development of the local labour markets and women’s labour market chances, and how did this develop in reaction to the global crisis?
- What is the role of the type of governance structures in local care policies for the ways in which local social policies react to new challenges?
- Which is the role of social cleavages and conflicts for the development of local social policies?
Papers are invited that focus on these issues from different disciplines.
Convenors:
| Prof. Dr. Birgit Pfau-Effinger | Prof. Dr. Hildegard Theobald | |
| Institute of Sociology University of Hamburg Allende-Platz 1 D-20146 Hamburg, Germany Phone +49-40-42838-3810 E-mail: pfau-effinger@sozialwiss.uni-hamburg.de |
Vechta University Centre for Research on Ageing and Society Driverstr. 22 D-49377 Vechta, Germany Phone: +49 (0)4441/15551 E-mail : hildegard.theobald@uni-vechta.de |
Saturday, 9:00-11:00 Room 02, Session 12.2.
Presentations:
1. Barbara Fersch, Bjarke Raphael Hansen, Per H. Jensen, Henrik Lolle: Dynamics behind local variations in elderly care [abstract] [paper]
2. Kreimer Margareta and Meier Isabella: Local care policies in the case of long-term care in Austria [abstract] [paper]
3. Jane Foody: Insights from case studies into the role of politics in English elderly care services [abstract] [paper]
4. Steven Saxonberg: Does Size Matter: Local Variations in Attitudes toward Family Policies and Gender [abstract] [paper]
Contributed papers:
1. Ralf Och: Political participation of senior representants in elderly care policies in East and West Germany – a four cases comparison. [abstract] [paper]
2. Gábor Pósfai: The status of long term care in Hungary [abstract] [paper]
3. Ellen Grootegoed: Decentralisation of social care in the Netherlands [abstract] [paper]
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?