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Conclusion: lessons learned and future directions
New Horizons in Social Policy series
James Midgley, Espen Dahl and Amy Conley Wright
The concluding chapter by the editors offers a short summary of the book and its chapters, drawing attention to the major lessons learned and discussing some of the future directions scholarly research in the field should take. They point out that although the book offers a critique of the Western literature, it is not intended primarily to critique this literature but rather to enhance its international relevance and contribute to the emergence of a globally relevant body of knowledge on social investment that will be helpful to policy-makers and practitioners seeking to promote social welfare around the world. Key words: social investment, international social welfare
In Social Investment and Social Welfare
Edited by James Midgley, Espen Dahl and Amy Conley Wright
A critical perspective on child care and social investment in Norway: what is in children's best interest?
Knut Halvorsen, Amy Østertun Geirdal and Anne Grete Tøge
This chapter by Knut Halvorsen, Amy Østertun Geirdal and Anne Grete Tøge critically examines child care policies and programmes in Norway. The experiences of Norwegian children in preschools, schools and families, and the impact on their happiness and mental health, are examined in relation to other European and Western children. The assumption that social investments in children and parents are always in the best interests of the well-being of children is questioned. Drawing on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1989, the authors contend that human rights, capabilities and citizens' perspectives should be considered, as an alternative to the social investment perspective. It is argued that the child's present experience (being) should be balanced with future-oriented investments (becoming).
Employment policy and social investment in Norway
Espen Dahl and Thomas Lorentzen
This chapter by Espen Dahl and Thomas Lorentzen examines labour market policy and related social polices in Norway, focusing on a selected set of recent reforms as well as their outcomes such as work participation and earnings, in particular for disadvantaged groups that are often targets of the reforms. A rather mixed picture emerges. Some reforms and parts of larger reforms carry the stamp of a true social investment approach, for example the reform in the Welfare and Labour Administration, and the Qualification Programme targeted at social assistance recipients. Other reforms, such as changes in the Work Environment Act, cuts in benefits for disability beneficiaries with low pre-disability earnings, and stricter conditions for receiving social assistance benefit fit poorly with a social investment strategy. Yet, it should be added that these reforms mostly tend to be carefully designed, are rather moderate in nature and restricted in scope. As these reforms are recent, their consequences are still unknown. Key words: social investment, international social welfare, labour markets, employment policy, Norway
The future of capitalism
What Can Be Done About Wealth Inequality?
New Directions in Modern Economics series
Roger A. McCain
The chapter begins by refining a definition of capitalism, drawing on Marx and Schumpeter, but reconciles this definition with the existence of what Piketty calls a "Patrimonial middle class" by restating the definition of the working class in terms of the life-cycle. Sketches and in part criticizes Piketty's account of the concentration of wealth, and integrates some of Stiglitz's writing on rent-seeking. Concludes that mature capitalism tends to be transformed, via concentration of wealth, into plutocratic oligarchy, with regrettable consequences.
In Approaching Equality
Housing and social investment: lessons from Hong Kong and Singapore
This chapter by James Lee discusses the role of housing in social investment with reference to Singapore and other East Asian countries where housing serves not only to meet shelter needs but also as a powerful investment tool that has major long-term welfare effects. Traditional social policy theories have been vague on the social investment impact of social policy, especially with regard to housing policy. Its dual nature, as both consumption and investment, has made it difficult to align with other social polices such as health care and education. This chapter examines its role as social investment in two contrasting high-growth urban economies in East Asia: Singapore and Hong Kong. First, it tackles a gap in contemporary social policy debates and explains why the social investment aspect has been neglected. Second, through the case studies of Hong Kong and Singapore, it explains the important relationship between housing policy and social security. The purpose is to look beyond the residential dimension of housing and to establish a connection between housing policy and asset-building. Given its enormous potentials on investment and returns, its impact on quality of life, wealth and social justice, a thorough understanding of the role of housing policy is vital to realizing the social investment potentials of contemporary social policy. Key words: social investment, international social welfare, housing, Hong Kong, Singapore
Introduction: plan and scope of the book
Sketches the plan of the book. Argues that wealth inequality is the basis of many other economic problems, noting that concentrations of wealth inevitably become concentrations of political power; this concentration of political power makes political democracy increasingly difficult to sustain; concentration of wealth inevitably creates instability and differences of social status, and inequality of wealth is the major cause of income inequality.
Investing in communities in the United States: social capital, asset building and local enterprise
James Midgley
This chapter by James Midgley discusses asset building at the community level in the United States where community development programmes have a long history and have prioritized inventions that transcend traditional welfare approaches. Noting that the literature on social investment has paid little if any attention to investments at the community level, this chapter examines the way the federal and state governments of the United States, supported by nonprofit organizations, have sought to invest in low-income communities by mobilizing assets, expanding employment, increasing access to education and affordable housing, and raising standards of living. It begins by tracing the origins of the community social investment approach in the late nineteenth century, when the settlement house movement introduced a number of initiatives designed to deal with urban poverty and deprivation brought about by industrialization, urbanization and mass migration into the United States. These activities were subsequently augmented by programmes introduced during the War on Poverty in the 1960s. The chapter discusses the way these programmes have evolved and now comprise a variety of community and asset building initiatives throughout the country. It concludes by assessing the achievements as well as limitations of the community social investment approach in the United States. Key words: social investment, international social welfare, community development, United States of America
Pension reform in China: towards social investment
Joe C. B. Leung and Yuebin Xu
This chapter by Joe Leung and Yuebin Xu discusses pension reform in China and questions whether the government's pension policies effectively promote social investments that produce future benefits to elders. Facing the challenges of the ageing population, escalating pension payments and imminent declining workforce, China has to formulate a sustainable, adequate and affordable pension system. Using pension reforms as an example, this chapter illustrates that harmonizing pension reforms are regarded as the key instrument of social investment strategy to promote economic performance. Pension reforms are pivotal to restructure the labor market, facilitate labour mobility and integration across regions, occupational sectors, and rural and urban areas, as well as to enhance the quality of human capital. In short, a modernized economy has to be accompanied by a universal and equitable social security system. Key words: social investment, international social welfare, pensions, social protection, China
Piketty's narrative and the wealth tax
Piketty's model of the increasing inequality of wealth is reviewed with some issues that have arisen from it, including the discussion of the "elasticity of substitution." The proposal that a tax be placed on net wealth above some minimum, also present in Lewis' proposals, is discussed, and it is suggested that such a tax be hypothecated to fund and enlarge the Social Endowment Fund. The problem of enforcement is discussed and it is suggested that some reforms of other tax laws could create a situation in which "at some stage some buyer or seller will want to report the transaction to save himself taxes," thus making a tax system including the wealth tax essentially self-enforcing. Some related issues are discussed, along with Atkinson's recent (much more far-reaching) proposal of public policies to limit income inequality. A simple three-factor CES model of production and growth is sketched that (1) generates the movements in capital incomes that Piketty's model suggests, despite the fact that (2) raw labor and an aggregate of human and physical capital are complements. The model is approximately fit to data for the United States in the later twentieth century and used to project the impacts of a wealth tax and a Social Endowment Fund for a highly simplified case.