Premium
The Scandinavian Welfare Model in Crisis? Achievements and Problems of the Danish Welfare State in an Age of Unemployment and Low Growth
Author(s) -
Andersen Jørgen Goul
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.1997.tb00182.x
Subject(s) - welfare state , unemployment , incentive , welfare , economics , politics , legitimacy , danish , labour economics , political economy , development economics , market economy , political science , economic growth , law , linguistics , philosophy
The “Scadinavian welfare model” is often considered vulnerable to mass unemployment. The Danish welfare state provides and opportunity to examine the capacities of the “Scandinavian model” to adapt to this situation. This article explores a number of alleged crisis problems of th welfare state, ground into budgetary pressures, incentive problems and legitimacy problems. It is conclude that most of these problems have been exasggerated and that the rrreal threats to the economic foundations of the welfare state should be found in political steering and incentive problems rather thant in the exogenous pressures from the social and economic system, or in pressure from th unintended side effects of welfare arrangement. It is furthermore argued that one of the main achievements of the Danish welfare state has been so prevent unemployment and labor market marginalization from developing into a broad‐ranged social marginalizaton and a political po‐larization which could undermine citizenship and solidarity in society.