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We would like to invite proposals for papers to Stream 4 of the:

 

2017 ESPAnet Conference

New Horizons of European Social Policy: Risks, Opportunities and Challenges

14^th-16^th September 2017, Lisbon, Portugal

 

Stream 4: Welfare Reform and Austerity: international perspectives on increasing demand and diminishing resources

European welfare states have been under enormous pressure since the financial crisis in 2008/09.  Continued weak economic growth in many regions has contributed to widening social inequality, stubborn levels of unemployment, low-wages and increasing labour market precarity.  In many countries this has persistently placed welfare reform and austerity at the heart of national policy agendas and deficit reduction plans.  Increasing demand for support is therefore juxtaposed with diminishing resources.  Tasked with finding ways to do more for less, we are witnessing welfare states reaching the limits of their redistributive capacities.

 

Across Europe, in both social assistance and social insurance welfare regimes, a variety of welfare reforms have come to the fore which aim to incentivise and support out-of-work claimants to engage in the workforce or penalise those who are unable to do so.  A range of activation policies which include reductions to entitlement and eligibility, neoliberal out-sourcing or third sector provision of support services, and increased conditionality or sanctions have been implemented.  Conditionality for the receipt of social assistance is an accepted principle in many states, but under austerity we have seen a growing harshness in many welfare systems.  Welfare reforms are not just limited to reductions in income, housing support and welfare services for the unemployed, those in receipt of disability or sickness benefits, or single parent families, but reforms are also becoming increasingly punitive.  A deficit model predicated on the individual being responsible for their lack of employment, rather than acknowledging structural regional and sub-regional labour market forces at play, has become the dominant discourse in many political contexts.

 

This stream encourages papers which explore the context, policy and practice of welfare reform, conditionality and activation policies in EU welfare states post-crisis under neoliberal austerity.  We will seek to include perspectives that reflect the diverse employment and welfare systems and strategies of member states and beyond.

 

Full conference details can  be found at: ESPAnet Conference 2017

Full details of the streams can be found at: ESPAnet 2017 - Streams

Submission of abstracts can be found at: ESPAnet 2017 - Submission of abstracts

 

Deadline for  submission of abstracts is 15^th March 2017.

Abstracts should be about 500 words and should contain the following information:

1. Main issue analyzed in the paper (about 100 words)
2. Type of methodology and sources of data/information used for the analysis (about 200 words) (in case the paper is mainly theoretical, please specify so)
3. Main findings expected from the analysis (about 200 words)

•   Abstracts may only be submitted online (see link above) and please do not send abstracts to stream convenors
•   Avoid submission within 48 hours of the deadline for best system performance

 

Best regards,