A historical study of the mixed economy of welfare: the formal and informal spheres in early modern English towns

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18562
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 7:Economics, business administration, and related fields
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Kawana Yoh 東北大学, 経済学研究科, 教授 (70312527)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 都市法人 / 個人 / ホスピタル / チャリティ / 介護 / 救貧 / 都市史 / イギリス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to construct an ideal model of a welfare system that supports a stable economic society, and to investigate the historical conditions that supported this system by taking the example of English society. The purpose of this study is to analyze the basic historical materials relevant to this study. In addition, based on the results of this analysis, I have prepared to organize research issues for publication, aiming at comprehensive foundational research. As a result, it has been confirmed that the welfare economy of the advanced country, Great Britain, emerged on the extension of welfare policies and practices that were widely established in the society before modern times. Furthermore, we found that it is important to focus on the relationship between the operation of poor relief facilities and the development of civic corporations as an entry point to accurately capture its characteristics.

Free Research Field

経済史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果から、イギリスのような経済先進国の福祉制度の発達はその社会特有の歴史的発展に根ざしていたことが明らかとなった。とくに、近代的福祉制度の発達が、政府による上からの政策として導入される以前に、私的活力をもとに高齢者福祉を含む弱者救済の思想を伴って全国で実践されていたことが明らかになりつつある。こうした知見は、長期にわたり持続する救貧史の伝統を持たない国々において近代的福祉制度を構築する際に、単に財政効率偏重の短期的で縦割りの政策に終始するのではなく、救貧介護にかかわる社会規範を規定する歴史的現実をふまえ視野を広げ、中・長期的展望を持って社会改革に臨むことの重要性を示唆するものである。