Inflow to the Class of Recipients under the Daily Life Security System of the Working Households and its Reliefs: Energy Revolution Period as the Origin of Contemporary Poverty

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12964
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 08020:Social welfare-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University (2020); Niigata University (2018-2019)
• Principal Investigator: Taira Masashi 九州大学, 記録資料館, 助教 (60812922)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 「エネルギー革命期」 / 生活困窮者救済 / 生活保護制度 / 「第二次適正化」政策 / 財政再建団体 / 産炭地

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted a comparative study to examine the reasons for the expansion of the classes of recipients under the daily life security (DLS) system and identify the factors that contributed to this expansion in the coal mining municipalities, especially the Fukuoka prefecture, in the energy revolution period. The results show that the high rate of DLS in these municipalities, particularly those in the Chikuho coalfield, has been attributed not only to the closure of coal mines and the displacement of their workers but also to institutional factors (e.g.,increased the level of livelihood assistance) and reduction in labor costs by designating　financial reconstruction organizations, among others. These factors can motivate an analysis of these municipalities, metropolitan cities, and areas with concentrated unemployment.

Free Research Field

社会政策

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「エネルギー革命期」における各産炭地では、炭鉱閉山により、炭鉱離職者、つまり稼働世帯の被保護階層への流入が顕著にみられたが、その流入要因と自治体間の相違は、十分に解明されていなかった。加えて、同時期に展開された「第二次適正化」政策についても、先行研究では、監査要綱などの史的展開については論じられたが、その実態については、必ずしもあきらかになっていなかった。本研究は、このような研究史における隘路を埋めるのみではなく、現代日本が抱える貧困問題である稼働世帯の貧困＝ワーキングプアを考える上での一助になると考えられる。