Traditional European welfare states are becoming not any more so traditional and generous if concerning social security. However it is still possible to talk about European social model in general and certain models of European welfare typology in particular if compare with the other regions in the world. Can You mention some important qualitative differences between Europe and East-Asia, America, Australia-New Zealand, if consider their social security systems?
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Guogis,
An interesting question and inviting comparative study.
Perhaps an opening topic would be to discuss the state and varieties of the European social model. My general impression is that these are the creations of the various European nation states and that the E.U. (and Globalization) having put the various European economies in competition with each other (and with the rest of the world) in degree, this has also had some influence on the viability or generosity of the traditional social models. The E.U. is first of all an economic union or common market; and in spite of E.U. aid and projects around the E.U. there is no prospect (so far as I'm aware) of the E.U. replacing the various welfare systems of the member states. I see some tension there between maintaining the traditional social models of the European nations and implementing fuller economic integration.
I wonder if others also see this tension. I'm curious about what others may think.
H.G. Callaway
H.G., for sure the "tension" you mention was obvious during the Grexit debacle.
Some countries managed to change their internal Eurosocialist rules without a lot of fuss, while others seem unable to do so. Women in Italy used to retire at 60. That rule was changed recently, first to 62, then without warning to 65, like men, and it hardly even made the news. Was anyone even aware of this change, other than perhaps Italians? Contrast this to the public outrage seen in Greece and then France.
I think that countries which expect the EU to bail them out in times of need cannot possibly champion more liberal socialist policies than those of the countries bailing them out. This will certainly create a lot of tension. It's just plain common sense. Bailing out an economy is a burden placed on wage earners. Governments do not grow money on trees. Wage earners can be expected to resent having to bail out those who enjoy more lavish socialist policies than they do. How can anyone expect otherwise?
This is why I predict that there will be a gradual merging of the different national policies, within EU member states. And thanks to globalization, this merging will likely become even more universal. Businesses need to be able to compete. We are not going back to economic isolation. The genie is out of that bottle.
Arvydas, I think we should start first with a definition of welfare. (what is welfare, does it include social pensions, etc?).Different EU countries may have different definitions/understandings, even if roughly all EU countries follow either a Bismarkian model or a more universal, 'Beveridge' model...
I am unsure there is an 'Asian' model for 'welfare', if you want to read about some differences between the US & European systems a piece (better than the usual crap related to 'markets',etc provided by the economists-even if these guys could not resist in the conclusion to the 'normative' crappy impulses common to economists( is here:https://www.cairn.info/revue-horizons-strategiques-2006-2-page-51.htm....
In relation to EE, I agree in part with Albert (there is a convergence in raising the pension age, to cut 'entitlements', and to cut the 'undeserving poor'- here we have an ideological convergence) and disagree in part. We are speaking about economic convergence of Eastern Europe with 'Western Europe' for a quarter century and not much happened. Besides, in EE, the inequalities (some are getting much better entitlements than the majority) are built in the constitutional (many exceptions, based on the category to which an employee belong; e.g. police or army officers have generous 'welfare' entitlements, uncommon for the rest of the population) arrangements and very difficult to alter. There won't be any 'convergence' anytime soon, for these provisions.
With respect to EU 'convergence'(for example, the possibility for pensioneers to exercise freedom of movement, etc), the recent record is rather dismayal (because of the economic divergences). And I do not see any EU wide appetite for 'convergence' here (other than that related to the ideological component-cut the undeserving poor).
I think, Chinese coast-line professional or offices' insurance - but can somebody provide me with literature sources in English about such Chinese phenomena?
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