Jan   15
COMPARATIVE   WELFARE   STATES
GOVT/PUAD   739   (001)
Spring   2013
Prof. Mariely López-Santana mlopezs1@gmu.edu
Office: Robinson A222
Tel.: (703) 993.9479
Office Hours: By appointment
Tuesd & Thursd: 3:00-4:00
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In many countries, traditional ‘politics’ have been organized around the following question-- “What should be the role of the state in providing for citizens and in stabilizing the economy?” At the core of these debates, we find a set of institutions and policies, better known as the welfare state. This course seeks to provide students with an overview of the scholarship on the emergence, expansion, and transformations of the welfare state. Using a comparative approach, we will also explore the organization and the content of these institutions and social policies in various countries and regions. In the second part of the semester, we will address debates regarding changes in the content and the nature of contemporary welfare states. In the process of covering these topics, students will become familiar with a set of discussions on the relationship among the welfare state, race, gender, class, and various types of actors (e.g., labour, capital, political parties), for instance. Finally, even though the course will cover various policy areas, its main focus will be on unemployment benefits, employment policies, and labor market policies.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the close of this course, students should:
 Have a firm grasp of the main academic debates regarding the emergence, expansion, and transformation of welfare states
 Have a grasp about different views about the State, and poverty
 Concisely summarize, connect, and evaluate the literature by discussing it in class, writing memos, and a research paper
 Have a firm grasp of a specific welfare state by conducting a case study
 Identify the main cross-national trends regarding welfare regimes
READINGS:
1) Required:
 Pierson, Christopher and Francis G. Castles (2007) The Welfare State Reader (Polity).
 Haggard, Stephan and Robert R. Kaufman (2008) Development, Democracy and Welfare States
(Princeton UP).
2) References (available at the Johnson Center): The Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State (2012) & The
Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State (2010).
3) Readings are available through Blackboard, the GMU library (electronic), or they are at the Johnson
Center (reserves).
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1 Suggested background reading: Wilensky, Harold L. (2002) Rich Democracies: Political Economy, Public Policy and Performance
(Berkeley: University of California Press); Pierson, Christopher (latest edition) Beyond the Welfare State: The New Political
Economy of Welfare (Cambridge: Polity Press); Fitzpatrick, Tony (latest edition) Welfare Theory: An Introduction to the
Theoretical Debates in Social Policy (Cambridge: Polity Press).
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1) Attendance and Participation (12%):
 Students are required to attend all classes. Absence from more than one class—unless a student has a documented emergency—will result in the reduction of ten points from the “attendance and participation” grade
missed session. Employer extra-hour demands, vacation, and travel do not constitute documented emergencies.
 Students are expected to have completed the assigned readings prior to class and to be prepared for seminar discussion. Students should arrive to class with extensive notes and prepared questions for the week’s readings. When applicable, students must also complete the assigned tasks.
 This is a participant-driven, discussion-based seminar. Therefore, students are expected to actively participate in class discussion.
2) Memos (6% each=24%):
 Students are required to write 4 memos ( 1-3 pages , 12 font, single-space). The memo should present a summary of the week’s readings.
 The final paragraph should be more critical and analytical by taking up specific arguments, comparing the positions of different authors, raising questions of evidence or content, or drawing attention to particular strengths and weaknesses in the texts.
 Finally, the memo should pose 4-6 questions. These questions should address core concepts, debates, and issues put forward by the week’s readings, and in relation to previous readings during the course of the semester.
 Your grade will suffer if you do not cover every reading assigned that week. Memos are due by
prior to class (e-mail me your memo). Late memos will not be graded.
3) Resident Expert (7% each) & Case Study (6% each):
 Having selected the 4 dates for your memos, then (from those 4 dates) select 2 classes to complete the following steps.
 Step 1 (Resident Expert): During these 2 classes you will be our resident expert. As a resident expert you should be actively involved in the discussion. More specifically, you should be prepared to: 1) identify and summarize the key aspects of each section (i.e., main questions or puzzles motivating the work, hypotheses/theories, research designs, evidence), 2) relate the different works to each other (e.g., comparisons of focus or methodology, relevance to the historical development of the discipline, key definitions and concepts), and 3) present your arguments and questions.
 Step 2 (Case Study): Part of your responsibility as a resident expert is to present a case study
(length: 10-15 minutes).For this part of this assignment, you will research a specific country and/or topic and present your findings in class. Your case selection must match the topic covered in class that day. For instance, if we are covering European welfares states, you can select a specific country in Europe and conduct a case study on the origins and expansion of the welfare state in that country. Note that I have included some suggestions for your case study
(see class schedule).
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4) Mid-term Abstract (5%), Presentations (8%), & Final Research Paper (25%)
 Mid-term abstract (March 17 th by 6pm; e-mail). You should cover the following points:
What is your research question/puzzle? Thesis? Objective/goal? How are you going to answer your question? Length: 1 page single space.
 Mid-term Presentation (March 19 th ): You have 10-15 minutes to present your topic. Students must provide feedback to your peers.
 Final presentation (April 30 th ); final research paper (May 12 th ): length 20-25 pages (not including the bibliography), double-spaced.
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SCHEDULE AND READINGS (subject to change):
TWSR= “The Welfare State Reader”; BB= Blackboard
1.
Introduction Jan.
2.
Why welfare states?
In this session, we will explore the foundations and the origins of welfare states. Some of the questions that will be addressed are: Why welfare states? Where do they come from?
Suggestions for case studies:
 UK and workhouses
 Bismarck and the welfare state
 Great Britain and Poor Laws
 Sweden and Poor Laws
22
Jan.
29 houses
READINGS
-- Briggs, Asa, “The Welfare State in Historical
Perspective” (In
TWSR ).
Organization
TWSR ).
-- Marshall, T.H., “Citizenship and Social Class” (In
--Ruggie, John. G. “International regimes, transactions, and change: embedded liberalism in the postwar economic order” creation of welfare states).
International
36 (2): 379-451 (skim it to identify his argument regarding economic openness and the
-- Fox Piven, Frances and Richard A. Cloward
(1971) Regulating the Poor: The Functions of the Welfare
State (Vintage Books): 1-20 (see BB).
--Yörük, Erdem (2012) “Welfare Provision as
Political Containment: The Politics of Social
Assistance and the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey.”
Politics & Society 40: 517-547.
3.
Studying welfare states comparatively
This session will provide students with the tools to compare and contrast various dimensions of the welfare state. To capture cross-national differences and similarities, we will discuss several notions and typologies. Students will become familiar with key concepts, including “welfare regimes” and “varieties of capitalism,”.
2
Feb.
5
-- Esping-Andersen, Gosta, “The Three Worlds of
Welfare Capitalism” (In TWSR) .
3
-- Hall, Peter A. and David Soskice (2001) Varieties of Capitalism : 1-9, 50-51 (see BB)
-- Titmuss, Richard, “Universalism versus
Selection” (In TWSR ).
-- Lewis, J. (1992) “Gender and the Development of
Welfare Regimes,” Journal of European Social Policy 2
(3): 159-173.
4
2 Suggested reading: Pontusson, Jonas (2001) Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe vs. Liberal America (Cornell UP).
3 For a review of Esping-Andersen, see Arts, Wil and Gelissen, John (2002) “Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-the-art report,” Journal of European Social Policy 12 (2): 137-158; van der Veen, Robert Jan and ven der
Brug, Wouter (2012) “Three Worlds of Social Insurance: On the Validity of Esping Andersen's Welfare Regime
Dimensions.” British Journal of Political Science (December): 1-21.
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Jan   15
Attend talk: The Future of the Welfare State in the
United States (Prof. Kent Weaver, Georgetown
University; Prof. Kimberly Morgan, George
Washington University)
4.
Liberal Welfare States and The Case of the
United States
In this session, we will study the main pillars of the welfare state in the United States—the main example of a liberal welfare state. In addition, we will explore the origins and transformations of this welfare state.
In this process, students will become familiar with a set of debates (e.g., welfare, gender, and race) surrounding the expansion and retrenchment of these institutions and policies in this country.
Suggestion for case studies:
 The New Deal and the development of the US welfare state
 The Great Society and the US
 The Personal Responsibility Act, Work
Opportunity Act, and the Contract with America
5.
European Welfare States
In this session, we will explore a set of theoretical debates regarding European welfare states, such as the role of corporatism and political parties in explaining the expansion of social policies in many European states. Furthermore, we will address the state of domestic regimes given European integration.
Feb.
12
Feb.
19
Feb.
26
Location: TBA
-- Weir, Margaret, Ann Shola Orloff and Theda
Skocpol (1988)
States
Poverty” (In
Know it
Difference
The Politics of Social Policy in the United
: 6-27 (at the JC).
-- Handler, Joel F. and Yeheskel Hasenfeld (2007)
“Blame Welfare: Ignore Poverty and Inequality”
(Cambridge UP): 1-5.
New Poverty” (In
TWSR) .
5
-- Mead, Lawrence M. “The New Politics of the
TWSR ).
6
-- Murray, Charles “The Two Wars Against
-- Weaver, Kent, R. (2000) Ending Welfare as We
(Brookings): Ch. 2 (see BB).
-- Alesina, Alberto and Edward L. Glaeser (2004)
Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe: A World of
(Oxford UP): 77-93, 217-221 (see BB).
6.
Are these welfare states?: Asia, Latin America, and
Post-Communist Countries
By focusing on non-Western and/or non-developed countries, in this session we will explore alternative
March
5
-- Korpi, Walter “The Power Resource Model” (In
TWSR ).
-- Huber, Evelyne and John D. Stephens (2001)
“Development and Crisis of the Welfare State:
Parties and Policies in Global Markets”: p. 1-4, 39-
84, 312-323, 331-337 (see BB).
-- Manow, Philip and Kees van Kersbergen.
“Religion and Western Welfare State—The
Theoretical Context.” In Religion, Class Coalitions and
Welfare States (Cambridge UP) (available at the JC).
-- López-Santana, Mariely (2006) “The Domestic
Implications of European Soft Law: framing and transmitting change in employment policy” Journal of
European Public Policy 13 (4): 481-499.
-- Huber, Evelyne and Bogliaccini, Juan (2010)
“Latin America”. In Oxford Handbook of the Welfare
State (Oxford UP): 644-655 (see BB).
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-- Peng, Ito and Wong Joseph (2010) “East Asia”
4 Suggested reading: Orloff, Anne Shola (1993) “Gender and social rights of citizenship: the comparative analysis of
5 gender relations and welfare states,” American Sociological Review 58: 3030-28.
A gendered perspective of liberal regimes: O’Connor, Julia, Ann Shola Orloff and Sheila Shaver (1999) States, Markets and Families: Gender, Liberalism and Social Policy in Australia, Canada and the United States (Cambridge UP).
6 Suggested reading: Skocpol, Theda (1992) “Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in
7 the United States” (Harvard UP).
Suggested readings: Gough, Ian, et al. (2004) Insecurity and welfare regimes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America: social policy in development contexts (Cambridge UP); Huber, Evelyne, Thomas Mustillo, and John D. Stephens (2008) “Politics and Social
Spending in Latin America,” Journal of Politics 70 (2); Ho Kim, Pil. 2010. “The East Asian Welfare State debate and surrogate social policy: an exploratory study on Japan and South Korea,” Socio-Economic Review 8: 411-435; Huber,
Evelyne and John D. Stephens (2012) Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America (Chicago UP).
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Jan   15   models and configurations of the welfare state.
Suggestion:
 Conditional cash transfer programs
PRESENTATIONS AND
7. Key Topic: Democracy and Development
(same source as above): 656-670 (see BB).
Select one of these readings:
-- Estévez-Abe, Margarita (2008) Welfare and
Capitalism in Postwar Japan (Cambridge UP): p. 1-5,
19-50 (see BB).
-- Huber, Evelyne, Pribble, Jenny, and John D.
Stephens (2009) “Politics, Policies, and Poverty in
Latin America” Comparative Politics 41 (4): 387-407.
-- Orenstein, Mitchell A. (2012) “Postcommunist
Welfare States.” In Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy
(ed. Francis Fukuyama, Larry Diamond, and Marc
F. Plattner) (available at the JC).
March 12: SPRING BREAK
March
19
What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for the emergence of welfare states? This section explores whether democracy and development are sufficient and necessary conditions for the development of welfare states.
-- Haggard, Stephan and Robert R. Kaufman
(2008) Development, Democracy, and Welfare States
(Princeton UP)
8. Key Topic: Openness and Globalization March
26
-- Review Ruggie’s argument
-- Brady, David, Jason Beckfield, and Martin
Seeleib-Kaiser (2005) “Economic Globalization and the Welfare State in Affluent Democracies,
1975–2001.” American Sociological Review 70 (6): 921-
948.
--Rudra, Nita and Haggard, Stephen (2005)
“Globalization, Democracy, and Effective Welfare
Spending in the Developing World.” Comparative
Political Studies 38 (9): 1015-1049.
-- Rickard, Stephanie J. (2012) “Welfare versus
Subsidies: Governmental Spending Decisions in an
Era of Globalization.” The Journal of Politics 74 (4):
1171-83.
9.
The Post-Golden Era of the Welfare State: Between continuity and change
Since the 1980s, welfare states have been gradually changing. What is the nature of these changes? What drives these changes? This session will provide students with various accounts and illustrations of this
--Torben Iversen and Wren, Anne (1998) “Equality,
Employment, and Budgetary Restraint: The
Trilemma of the Service Economy,” World Politics 50
(4): 507-546.
April 2 -- Offe, Claus “Some Contradictions of the Modern
Welfare State” (In TWSR ).
8
-- Pierson, Paul (1995) Dismantling the Welfare State?:
Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of Retrenchment
(Cambridge UP) (see BB)
--Pierson, Paul (2001) “Coping with Permanent
8 On gender issues, Castles, Francis G. (2003) “The World Turned Upside Down: Below Replacement Fertility,
Changing Preferences and Family-Friendly Public Policy in 21 OECD Countries.” Journal of European Social Policy , 13 (3);
Linda Hantrais (1999) “Socio-demographic change, policy impacts and outcomes in social Europe.” Journal of European
Social Policy 1 (9): 291-309.
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Jan   15   process.
10. Nature of Changes
How have welfare states changed since the 1980s? In this section, we explore the nature of these changes.
11. Key Topic: Partisanship
This session focuses on the following questions: Does partisanship matter to understand the nature of social policies and reforms in a country? If so, how does it matter? If not, why it does not matter?
Austerity: Welfare States Restructuring in Affluent
Democracies.” In The New Politics of the Welfare State
(Oxford UP): 410-427.
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-- Emmenger, Patrick, Silja Häusermann, Bruno
Palier, and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser (2012) The Age of
Dualization: The Changing Face of Inequality in
Deindustrializing Societies , Ch. 1.
April 9 -- Bonoli, Giuliano (2010) “The Political Economy of Active Labor-Market Policy.” Politics & Society 38
(4): 435-457.
-- Vail, Mark. I (2010) Recasting Welfare Capitalism:
Economic Adjustments in Contemporary France and
Germany (Temple UP): 1-15, 168-172 (you can read the review written by the professor on CPS).
-- Excerpts from Prof. López-Santana’s book.
-- Emmenger, Patrick, Silja Häusermann, Bruno
Palier, and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser (2012) The Age of
Dualization: The Changing Face of Inequality in
Deindustrializing Societies , Ch. 2.
April 16 -- Review “power resource model.”
--Allan, James P. and Scruggs, Lyle (2004) “Political
Partisanship and Welfare State Reform in Advanced
Industrial Societies.” American Journal of Political
Science 48 (3):496-512.
-- Rueda, David. (2005) “Insider–Outsider Politics in Industrialized Democracies: The Challenge to
Social Democratic Parties.” American Political Science
Review 99 (1).
10
-- Häusermann, Silja, Picot, Georg, and Geering,
Dominik (2013) “Review Article: Rethinking Party
Politics and the Welfare State – Recent Advances in the Literature.” British Journal of Political Science 43 (1):
221—240.
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“Introduction: Institutional Change in Advanced
Political Economies”, In Beyond Continuity:
Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies
(Oxford UP): 1-36 (see BB).
13. Final Presentation April
May 12 (12 pm): Last day to submit your research paper
9 See review essay: Green-Pedersen,Christoffer and Haverland, Markus (2002) “Review Essay: The new politics and scholarship of the welfare state.” Journal of European Social Policy 12 (1): 43-51.
10 Suggested readings on changing class structures and stratification: Oesch Daniel (2006) “Coming to grips with a changing class structure. An analysis of employment stratification in Britain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.”
International Sociology 21(2): 263-288; Palier, Bruno and Kathleen Thelen (2010) “Institutionalizing Dualism:
Complementarities and Change in France and Germany,” Politics & Society 38 (1): 119-148; Oesch Daniel and Rodriguez
Menes, Jorge (2011) “Upgrading or polarization? Occupational change in Britain, Germany, Spain and Switzerland,
1990-2008.” Socio-Economic Review 9(3): 1-29;Patrick Emmenegger, Patrick, Silja Häusermann, Bruno Palier, and Martin
Seeleib-Kaiser (2012). The Age of Dualization. The Changing Face of Inequality in Deindustrializing Societies . Oxford UP;
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Jan   15
POLICIES:
1) Assignment and topics— Memo and paper extensions will be given only if students have proper documentation. In place of an email, please see me during office hours to discuss missed/late work.
-- Assignments received after the deadline will drop one-third of a grade per day (thus, an A becomes an A-, etc.).
2) Grading-If you disagree with your grade you have the right to discuss it with me. With your original paper, you must submit a written statement (typed). Here you should make an ‘informed case’ for why I should reconsider your grade. You have two weeks to bring your complaint to me. We will discuss your points and my expectations during office hours (I will not discuss grades over e-mail). You must contact me to set up a meeting time to discuss your complaint. We will discuss your points and my expectations and we will try to get a consensus. However, I reserve the right to change your grade.
3) Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Cheating-- Just one thought about it: it is unacceptable and I will report all alleged violations to the Honor Committee (and I have done in the past). GMU has an Honor Code with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. If you fail to follow these principles I will not hesitate to report any alleged violation to the Honor Committee, “Cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing academic work and related material constitute Honor Code violation. To maintain an academic community according to these standards, students and faculty must report al alleged violations.”
Plagiarism includes copying assignments from fellow students (or other persons), buying papers on the
Internet, borrowing papers from ‘secret archives,’ NOT CITING THE SOURCES OF IDEAS, QUOTES,
ETC (pay attention to online resources) and copying and pasting from the internet or other sources. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own;
(2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students or websites, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification. No grade is important enough to justify academic misconduct. For more details, see: http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/pdfs/catalog_0809.pdf
. When in doubt (of any kind) please ask for guidance and clarification
4) Enrollment— Students are responsible for verifying their enrollment in this class. For more information and important date, see: http://registrar.gmu.edu/calendars/2011Fall.html
. After the last day to drop, withdrawing from this class requires the approval of the dean and is only allowed for nonacademic reasons.
5) GMU Email Accounts-- Students must activate and use their GMU email account to receive important University information, including messages related to this class. In addition, students should keep track of their e-mail quota.
6) Religious Holidays-- If you anticipate you will have a conflict due to religious holidays, please inform me within the first two weeks of class. This is especially important if you have to turn in an assignment the day you cannot attend the class.
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The official policy: “It is Mason’s policy to encourage its faculty to make a reasonable effort to allow students to observe their religious holidays or to participate in university-sponsored activities (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, forensics team, dance company, etc.) without academic penalty. Absence from classes or exams for these reasons does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the absence. Students who miss classes, exams, or other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance or for participation in a university activity will be provided a reasonable alternative opportunity, consistent with class attendance policies stated in the syllabus, to
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Jan   15
7) Special Needs -- Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disability, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (703) 993-2474. Any student with documented learning disabilities or other conditions that may affect academic performance should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 222; 993-2474; www.gmu.edu/student/drc) to determine the accommodations you might need; and 2) talk with me to discuss reasonable accommodations.
8) Avoid disruptive activities in the classroom-- Cellular phones, pagers, and other such electronic devices that could disrupt class must be turned off. Computer use in the classroom must be STRICTLY
LIMITED to the course discussion and assignments. The professor reserves the right to take appropriate action to cease disruptive behaviour in order to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning for the rest of the class
9) Food-- If you are hungry, you can eat a snack (small things, preferably odorless). But, you cannot eat a whole meal in class.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
** The University Catalog (http://catalog.gmu.edu) is the central resource for university policies affecting student, faculty, and staff conduct in university affairs. Other policies are available at http://universitypolicygmu.edu/.
Additional Resources:
--Writing Center: http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/students.html
http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/landing.html
(face-to-face appointments) http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/owl.html
(online tutoring)
make up the missed work. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty, within the first two weeks of the semester, with the dates of major religious holidays on which they will be absent, and the dates for which they are requesting an excused absence for participation in any university-sponsored activity scheduled prior to the start of the semester, and as soon as possible otherwise . Students requesting an excused absence for participation in a university-sponsored activity must provide their instructor with a letter from a university official stating the dates and times that participation in the activity would result in the student missing class.”
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