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Analysis of Seping-Anderson Three Worlds of the Welfare Capitalism

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Esping-Anderson (1990) describes different kinds of welfare state regime types in his book “three worlds of the welfare capitalism”. His book is one of the most cited books in welfare state literature. This is because of all the good things Esping-Anderson states in his book, but also because of some arguments which are considered controversial according to some authors (see Bambra, 2007 for detailed critique). Before elaborating on the critique on Esping-Anderson, his welfare state regime types will be further elaborated on. Esping-Anderson analysed and described the, in his time, 18 countries which were part of the organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD countries). He came up with two distinct dimensions: 1.…show more content…
This means that there is attention to the granting of benefits and services which are based on citizenship. This type of welfare state provides a high degree of autonomy. This autonomy limits the reliance on family and market (Ferragina and Seeleib-Kaiser 2011 – Wikipedia pagina). This means that out of all three welfare state regime types, this one is the most de-commodifying. In this context social policies are perceived as “politics against the market” (Esping-Anderson, 1990). Furthermore, stratification is lowest in this welfare state type. OECD countries that according to Esping-Anderson (1990) would fit into this welfare state regime type are: Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
The Christian-Democratic (conservative) welfare state type is funded on the principle of subsidiarity and the dominance of social insurance schemes. These offer a medium level of de-commodification and permit a high degree of stratification (Esping-anderson, 1990). OECD countries that according to Esping-Anderson (1990) would fit into this welfare state regime type are: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.
The Liberal welfare state regime type can be described as a type that is based on market dominance and private provision. The state functions as a night watchmen, only interfering to improve poverty and to provide for basic needs and protection. This mostly happens on a means tested basis. Because of this, the
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