Social Policy

This blog's goal is to make it easier to comprehend the key terms and definitions used in the study of social policy, which will serve as a foundation for future exploration of its theoretical frameworks and views. This module will assist the reader comprehend the key ideas behind social policy and introduce them to the field while also introducing a lens that will allow for later, critical assessments.

At the end the reader will be able to:

Recognize and define the important words and concepts used in the study of social policy, such as social policy, social administration, social welfare, the welfare state, and social expenditure.
Recognize the differences between the many terminologies being used and increase your understanding of the variety of goals that social programs might have.
Be aware of the objectives and results of the various approaches taken to address social needs.

Content

Introduction
Historical Background
Key concepts and Definitions

Social Policy
Social Expenditure
Social Welfare
The State and the Mixed Economy of Welfare
Social Need
Welfare State
Social Protection

Introduction

The study of social policy focuses on how social action supports citizens' well-being, and it examines how a society advances the welfare of individuals and families. It is a multi-disciplinary subject that contributes to both academic and empirical study. It draws on a range of disciplines, including geography, political science, sociology, and history.

Historical Background

This subject, which was formerly known as social administration but is now known as social policy, has its roots in nineteenth-century Britain. It was believed that social administration concentrated too closely on the analysis of how welfare services operated, whereas the word policy would encompass a more broad understanding and holistic analysis of the political and ideological bases of welfare provisions. The name change from social administration to the study of social policy was intended to signify a dramatic shift. The development of social protection through the state may be traced back to Fabian Politics, which was a critical examination of the socioeconomic issues that existed in Britain at the time. The idea that economic markets could supply everyone's welfare demands started to be questioned as fresh study results emerged. The need for state-led policy interventions to provide the kinds of support and protection that markets could not manage became apparent at that point. Early on, the British welfare state's principal architect, William Beveridge, focused on what he called the "five giants" when discussing social policy. Modern-day equivalents of these giants include unemployment, insufficient education, bad housing, poor health, and poverty. However, social policy experts and academics started to find weaknesses in the Beveridgean welfare state during the course of the post-war era. Some emphasized how poverty persisted in the midst of affluence. Some people cited the "hidden" racism and sexism that the welfare state had neglected to address. These criticisms demonstrated not only a concern with the shortcomings of government policy, but also a broadening of the scope of the academic field of social policy, which started to adopt a more critical viewpoint on the welfare state and draw heavily from ideas from sociology and political science.

Key concepts and Definitions

The term "policy" refers to the guiding principles that drive activity toward certain goals, and as such, it might even indicate change. As a result, policy might be described as action-oriented.

Thus, social policy can be viewed as a tool for good change and as an aspect of politics. Social policies, however, may not always be associated with altruism and may not always be advantageous because a social policy that can be advantageous to one group may really be harmful to another group. Therefore, it is important to view social policies critically.

Some people describe social policy as the steps taken to guarantee that every member of society has access to possibilities for upward mobility as well as a specified basic standard of life.

Therefore, it may be claimed that social policy has three key characteristics:

It aims to be beneficent by directing welfare for its citizens.
It includes economic as well as non-economic objectives.
It involves some level of progressive redistribution in the command over resources from the rich to the poor.

Social Policy can be divided into three models

The Social Policy Residual Welfare Model: This is founded on the idea that there are only two ways for an individual's needs to be met: through the private market and through their family. Social aid should only be offered, and then only briefly, when both of these systems fail. Some people defend this by claiming that the Welfare State's true goal is to teach people how to survive without it. This model's theoretical underpinnings date back to the era of English Poor Law.
Social Policy Under the Industrial Achievement-Performance Model: According to this concept, social welfare occupies a prominent role and serves as an economic supplement. The underlying principle is still that social demands must be satisfied based on merit, performance at work, and productivity. Its theoretical foundations are found in ideas that examined rewards for effort, incentives, and class loyalty formation. It is additionally called the "Handmaiden Model."
The Institutional Redistributive Model of Social Policy: According to this model, social welfare is a significant institution that is a part of society and offers universalist services outside of the market based on the principle of need. It is intended to include systems of resource redistribution through time and is partially based on the notion of social equality.

Social Expenditure

Adding up the money spent on social policy is one approach to gauge how much of it exists in any given culture. This results in two distinct types of expenditure:

Public Social Expenditure: Money and resources spent directly by governments. Eg: Cash benefits, pension schemes, unemployment benefits and other such social care services.
Private Social Expenditure: Money spent by non-government organizations on benefits and services for citizens.

Social protection refers to the availability of such benefits to people as a means of assistance and wellbeing. The ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) program, which addresses malnutrition and health issues affecting children under the age of six and their mothers in India, is an example of a social protection program. Similar programs include tax breaks and maternity benefits, among others.

Social Welfare

Social welfare refers to plans made to address social problems and meet the requirements of both people and groups within a society. While it may be used to describe improved access to economic benefits to support well-being, it also refers to other factors including fostering enjoyment and the absence of threat as well as actions made to support such types of welfare. There are numerous factors that contribute to someone's welfare and directly affect how good their lives are. These resources include connections to the economy, the government, as well as the people's families and communities. When none of these are available, the other fills the gap.

For example, while families tend to children from the moment of their birth, in the case of an orphan, the community or the government may need to step in and give aid or social services.

Therefore, welfare can be viewed as the end result of all three sources, which is why it is frequently referred to as the mixed economy of wellbeing.

The State and the Mixed Economy of Welfare

Although it is widely believed that the government is the main organization in charge of providing social services, this is no longer the case. This is due to the fact that welfare services are frequently funded and provided by a variety of diverse means that involve numerous sectors, including the commercial, public, not-for-profit, and informal sectors.

Several arguments can be made when one considers the state's role in providing welfare services. According to some, the state plays a significant role through its many responsibilities and functions, and as a result of this expanded role, it is no longer capable of carrying out all of these tasks and functions effectively. As a result, it is important to incorporate numerous additional external entities in order to streamline service administration and delivery. While some contend that a large state apparatus is ineffective because it involves red tape and bureaucracy, which frequently limits people's freedom and choice, others contend that the state's role in social policy needs to be enlarged in order to alleviate inequities.

Although there may be many points of view, it is undeniable that the state's involvement is multifaceted.

Social Need

In order to satisfy societal demands, this is basically why social welfare institutions are established. But in order to comprehend what defines a social need and how it differs from an individual need, it is crucial to dissect and comprehend what is meant by need and delve into the numerous forms of requirements.

There are many different needs, and they can be categorized.

Normative needs: These needs are based on predetermined norms. Experts frequently decide on these guidelines or criteria. A "desirable" standard is established and contrasted with the actual norm; if a person or group falls short of the desirable standard, they are recognized as in need. The normative definition of need has the drawback that various experts may set quite different, and possibly even competing, requirements. Normative standards may alter throughout time as a result of expanding knowledge and opportunities as well as shifting societal attitudes.
Comparative need: This kind of need develops as a result of comparison with those who do not experience it. It is founded on the idea that if individuals with comparable traits are not receiving a service, then they are in need. Provision may not always match need, despite what would appear to be an effort to standardize it. The issue arises because just because "X" is in need relative to "Y," it does not follow that "Y" is also not in need.
Felt need: People experience these needs, making them obvious as a result. For instance, when we feel ill or have an accident, we may need care (in various ways). Here, want and need are synonymous. It is constrained by the individual's views, which depend on their knowledge of the services that are offered, as well as their willingness to admit a loss of independence in many circumstances. On the other side, it might also be exaggerated by people who solicit assistance without truly requiring it.
Need that is openly proclaimed or obvious: This type of need is one that people claim to have. In essence, it is a need that was sensed and then met. It is normal for a felt need not to be conveyed through a demand for a service, even yet one does not demand a service unless they experience a need.

Once we have a clear understanding of the different demands, it is crucial to differentiate them from social needs. A social need develops as a result of common living circumstances among social groups and communities. These common conditions refer to issues that may be experienced jointly as well as the systems, social structures, and procedures necessary to address them.

Welfare State

The term "welfare" can apply to both "well-being" and services that are provided to people to protect them in a variety of situations. Although welfare is frequently linked to needs, it is crucial to remember that in order for people to achieve well-being, they must have the freedom to determine their objectives and aspirations.

Welfare states are nations where the majority of social services are funded and supplied by the government. It is founded on the ideas of equal opportunity, equitable economic distribution, and public responsibility for those unable to access even the bare necessities for a decent life. It entails the transfer of money from the government to organizations that provide services to people, whether it be in the form of healthcare, financial aid for education, pensions for the elderly, or other services. The welfare state should be distinguished from other types of aid, most notably the private sector, which offers welfare to its clients through insurance plans or sporadically through charitable organizations. It should also be contrasted from the volunteer sector, where assistance is supplied on a formal basis by major groups, frequently with the assistance of businesses, and on a less official, less organized level, due to the altruistic intentions of individuals.

Different beliefs have an impact on welfare policies in different nations. In his work, "The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism," Gosta Esping Anderson divided welfare states into three categories.

Liberal welfare states: These are states that provide benefits to low-income, primarily working-class, state dependents. The rigorous entitlement guidelines in this situation are intended to decrease the likelihood that people may choose welfare over employment. The advantages, though, are substantial. Canada, Australia, and the United States of America are a few examples of liberal welfare states.
Conservative welfare states place a high focus on maintaining status disparities; as a result, social insurance funds were established to recognize excellent work. It frequently excludes a subset or part of individuals to retain the existing institutions since it is steeped in tradition. Social insurance, for instance, discourages parenting by not covering non-working wives. These nations include France, Germany, and other nations in Europe.
According to Social Democratic Welfare, access to benefits and services is determined by citizenship and is based on the universalist principle. The goal is to uphold the highest level of equality, ensuring that the impoverished have access to the same rights as the wealthy. As a result, it includes providing equal advantages to people from all socioeconomic groups. Sweden and the Scandinavian nations are two examples.

A significant body of literature has also been written to argue against welfare states since they are thought to impede the chances for economic growth. The capacity to pull people out of poverty is thought to lay in the expansion of the economy rather than redistribution, which is thought to have only a limited power to do so. Similar to this, it is also asserted that the existence of welfare states will encourage individuals to choose benefit dependency over employment, hence reducing the active labor force or undermining their desire to work.

Social Protection

Making accommodations for the vulnerable in order to protect them is what social protection is all about. It may include women, children, old persons, and those living with impairments, historically oppressed groups and many more.

Social protection is commonly understood as “all public and private initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the vulnerable against livelihood risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized; with the overall objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups” (Devereux & Sabates-Wheeler, 2004: i). Social protection is typically supplied by the government and is based on the idea of a "state-citizen contract," according to which governments and citizens have obligations to one another. Social protection's goals can vary, though, and it may be used to improve lives, empower women and girls, or even as a reaction to an unexpected catastrophe or shock. Social protection's short-term objective is to operate as a temporary safety net to lessen the shock and to even out consumption patterns, but its long-term objective is to give people the means to permanently escape poverty.

The functions of social protection maybe divided into four types-

Protective: which provides relief from deprivation (example: pensions, income benefits)
Preventive: which averts deprivation (such as insurance schemes)
Promotive: which is meant to enhance income as well as capabilities (for example, inputs)
Transformative: meant to promote social equity and inclusion and rights (example: labour laws)

References

Baldock, J, Manning, N and Vickerstaff, S, (eds). Social Policy. Third edition. NY:OUP
Alcock, C et al (eds). 2008. Introducing Social Policy. Pearson Education Limited
Esping-Anderson, G. 1990. The Three Political Economies of the Welfare State. International
Journal of Sociology, 20, 3: 92-123
Titmuss, R. M. (1974). Social policy (pp. 1-2). London: Allen & Unwin.

Social Policy - Concepts and Definitions