Final Activity Report Summary - WORKHARDERMOREBABIES (Work harder and have more babies? A political-economic analysis of the care economy: old-age provision)
Exogenous factors such as globalisation and endogenous factors such as changes in the families have effects on women's gainful employment and the birth rates in the European welfare states. A precondition for and a consequence of rising female employment is the development of the care sector (e.g. care of children and the elderly). The size and structure of the care sector (e.g. private vs. public) in France and Germany are different. A basic assumption of the investigation is: the individual welfare depends not only on the income, but also on access to unpaid personal services and public goods. The more women are integrated into the labour market, the less they are available for unpaid care work.
Therefore, if one wants to avoid that a care supply deficit arises, paid care workers would have to take over the resulting work. But how and on which conditions? The research objects are the financial consequences of the recent pension reforms, both for private households and for the national budgets in Germany and France related to care. On a national level, the focus is on the shift from paid to unpaid care activities (or vice versa) which are known in the literature as trends towards either recomodification versus decomodification or trends towards refamiliarisation versus defamiliarisation. This research focus means to have a close look on care sector employees in both countries. In France, the care sector is organized traditionally rather publicly and formally, whereas in Germany the care sector is organised traditionally rather privately and informally. The respective changes which have taken place since the 1990er are of major interest here.
The field research includes not only visits to national archives and statistical data centres but also interviews with private households (working population, pensioner), care sector employees and experts in both countries and tries to find answers to the following questions:
a) Economic aspect: Is the care need (child care, elderly care) satisfied? If so, how (formally or informally) and at what costs (paid or unpaid)? If the care need is not met: what are the consequences?
b) Political aspect: In the case of an unmet care need or 'care gap': How is the insufficient care supply in the local context articulated? Are there interest groups who point to the problem of care need and articulate the supply deficit politically? Can there be detected any effects on the regional and/or national political agenda? How does the welfare state as a whole react institutionally?
Given the fact that the research project is scheduled for two years (1 September 2007 - 31 August 2009), only partial results and preliminary achievements can be presented here.
A first goal has been achieved in progressing towards an in-depth comparative analysis of the financial effects of pension reforms in both countries under study, Germany and France. The respective national budgets have been examined and complemented by a literature survey.
The results from the International Workshop on 'Future of European Welfare States' 24-26 April 2008 are encouraging. The organisation and scientific conception of the International Workshop on 'Future of European Welfare States' was in the hands of a small group of three researchers headed by Dr Susanne Hildebrandt. The International Workshop was entirely financed by the MERG-grant. A number of discussion papers have been produced that were submitted to the invited 40 high ranking researchers from 27 EU Member States and were subject to discussion with the aim of elaborating a common platform for future perspectives in comparative welfare research.
An advanced and graduate student's research seminar under the title 'Future of European Welfare States' was organised on 13 - 15August 2008 in Landhaus Rothenberg near Münster with 20 participants. One result is the on-going elaboration of a '3rd Münster PAPER' which includes the comments and discussion of the international workshop in March 2008 and the student's papers of the research seminar in August 2008 as a follow-up paper to the previous Münster papers.
The field research in Germany and France foreseen for the first project year 2007-2008 has been postponed and will be executed in the second year 2008-2009. It comprises empirical research (archives, statistical data), household questionnaires and expert interviews. The empirical data shall show evidence for social and political effects of the pension reform-induced resources shifting.
Therefore, if one wants to avoid that a care supply deficit arises, paid care workers would have to take over the resulting work. But how and on which conditions? The research objects are the financial consequences of the recent pension reforms, both for private households and for the national budgets in Germany and France related to care. On a national level, the focus is on the shift from paid to unpaid care activities (or vice versa) which are known in the literature as trends towards either recomodification versus decomodification or trends towards refamiliarisation versus defamiliarisation. This research focus means to have a close look on care sector employees in both countries. In France, the care sector is organized traditionally rather publicly and formally, whereas in Germany the care sector is organised traditionally rather privately and informally. The respective changes which have taken place since the 1990er are of major interest here.
The field research includes not only visits to national archives and statistical data centres but also interviews with private households (working population, pensioner), care sector employees and experts in both countries and tries to find answers to the following questions:
a) Economic aspect: Is the care need (child care, elderly care) satisfied? If so, how (formally or informally) and at what costs (paid or unpaid)? If the care need is not met: what are the consequences?
b) Political aspect: In the case of an unmet care need or 'care gap': How is the insufficient care supply in the local context articulated? Are there interest groups who point to the problem of care need and articulate the supply deficit politically? Can there be detected any effects on the regional and/or national political agenda? How does the welfare state as a whole react institutionally?
Given the fact that the research project is scheduled for two years (1 September 2007 - 31 August 2009), only partial results and preliminary achievements can be presented here.
A first goal has been achieved in progressing towards an in-depth comparative analysis of the financial effects of pension reforms in both countries under study, Germany and France. The respective national budgets have been examined and complemented by a literature survey.
The results from the International Workshop on 'Future of European Welfare States' 24-26 April 2008 are encouraging. The organisation and scientific conception of the International Workshop on 'Future of European Welfare States' was in the hands of a small group of three researchers headed by Dr Susanne Hildebrandt. The International Workshop was entirely financed by the MERG-grant. A number of discussion papers have been produced that were submitted to the invited 40 high ranking researchers from 27 EU Member States and were subject to discussion with the aim of elaborating a common platform for future perspectives in comparative welfare research.
An advanced and graduate student's research seminar under the title 'Future of European Welfare States' was organised on 13 - 15August 2008 in Landhaus Rothenberg near Münster with 20 participants. One result is the on-going elaboration of a '3rd Münster PAPER' which includes the comments and discussion of the international workshop in March 2008 and the student's papers of the research seminar in August 2008 as a follow-up paper to the previous Münster papers.
The field research in Germany and France foreseen for the first project year 2007-2008 has been postponed and will be executed in the second year 2008-2009. It comprises empirical research (archives, statistical data), household questionnaires and expert interviews. The empirical data shall show evidence for social and political effects of the pension reform-induced resources shifting.