Where are Europe`s Welfare States Heading? Analysis from the Perspective of Social Expenditures

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K11819
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Saitama Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Ito Yoshinori 埼玉県立大学, 保健医療福祉学部, 教授 (50648326)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 欧州 / 福祉国家 / 社会支出 / 財政制約 / 構造 / 収斂 / 新しい社会的リスク / 現物給付

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Social expenditures of European welfare states are affected by unique features of each country, including its values, norm awareness, and institutional structure. In addition, member countries are required to follow the strict fiscal discipline imposed by the EU. As a result, under structural and fiscal constraints, convergence in the movement of social expenditures in the EU has slowed. The present trend is toward maintaining or strengthening the characteristics of each welfare state group.
From the perspective of social expenditure, the European welfare states can be expected to converge within three groups. The first group consists of social democratic states that emphasize in-kind benefits in response to new social risks. The second group includes Southern European states, liberal states, and new EU member states that emphasize cash benefits responding to traditional social risks. The third group consists of conservative states that are gradually addressing new social risks.

Free Research Field

社会政策・社会保障

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

欧州の福祉国家の動向を日本に照らし合わせてみると、日本でも財政制約が強まる中、介護・保育サービス、社会的排除への対応など新しい社会的リスクに対応したサービスを拡充していくことは容易ではない。EUでは、厳しい財政状況が続けば、各国の社会支出に見られるそれぞれの価値、規範意識、制度などの特徴が維持される傾向が見られ、自由主義や家族主義の要素を持つ日本の社会支出の特徴（例えば、子育て・介護の家族依存）が今後も継続する可能性があることが示唆される。