Keywords
Southern welfare regimes
well-being
elderly
Social Care
Abstract
The age profile of a country influences the organization of healthcare arrangements for older people. In southern European countries, the low performance of the welfare state and traditional family-oriented culture have led to an informal and gendered model of care, with women often responsible for the (unpaid) caregiving work. However, the increasing female participation in the labour market challenges these welfare regimes, prompting a shift in family responsibilities outside the family. Moreover, in response to the growing need for long-term care workers, some European countries have relied on individuals with a “migratory background” rather than restructuring their public elderly care services. This article examines the demographic, cultural, economic, and social changes of southern welfare regimes. The introduction of policies that, directly or indirectly, eliminate gender stereotypes in informal caregiving work and the diffusion of equal family-care culture are measures that can no longer be postponed in addressing the future of such welfare regimes.
References
Albertini, M., Kohli, M., & Vogel, C. (2007). Intergenerational transfers of time and money in European families: common patterns—different regimes?. Journal of European Social Policy, 17(4), 319-334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928707081068
Alonso, A., Ciccia, R., & Lombardo, E. (2023). A Southern European model? Gender regime change in Italy and Spain. Women’s Studies International Forum, 98, 102737. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2023.102737
Anderson, B. (2000). Doing the dirty work? The global politics of domestic labour. New York: Zed Books.
Anttonen, A., & Sipilä, J. (1996). European Social Care Services: Is it possible to identify models? Journal of European Social Policy, 6(2), 87-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879600600201
Baranowski, M. (2019). The struggle for social welfare: Towards an emerging welfare sociology. Society Register, 3(2), 7-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2019.3.2.01
Baranowski, M. & Jabkowski, P. (2022). How many worlds of welfare state attitudes are there? European experiences in a comparative perspective of cross-national survey research. Economics and Sociology, 15(1), 160-177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2022/15-1/10
Baranowski, M., Cichocki, P., & McKinley, J. (2023). Social welfare in the light of topic modelling. Sociology Compass, 17(8), e13086. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13086
Bettio, F., Simonazzi, A., & Villa, P. (2006). Change in care regimes and female migration: the ‘care drain’ in the Mediterranean. Journal of European Social Policy, 16(3), 271-285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928706065598
Bifulco, L., Bricocoli, M., & Monteleone, R. (2008). Activation and local welfare in Italy: trends and issues. Social Policy & Administration, 42(2), 143-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2008.00600.x
Bonoli, G. (1997). Classifying welfare states: a two-dimension approach. Journal of Social Policy, 26(3), 351-372. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279497005059
Cangiano, A. (2014). Elder care and migrant labor in Europe: A demographic outlook. Population and Development Review, 40(1), 131-154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2014.00653.x
Castells, M. (1999). Information technology, globalization and social development. Geneva: UNRISD.
Crompton, R. (1999). Restructuring gender relations and employment: The decline of the male breadwinner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198294696.001.0001
Da Roit, B. & Weicht, B. (2013). Migrant care work and care, migration and employment regimes: A fuzzy-set analysis. Journal of European Social Policy, 23(5), 469-486. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928713499175
Durkheim, E. (1893). The Division of Labor in Society. Paris: Alcan.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879100100108
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Social Foundations of Post-industrial Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0198742002.001.0001
European Commission (2023). 2024 Ageing Report ISSN 2443-8014 (online) Underlying Assumptions & Projection Methodologies. Institutional paper 257. Retrieved from https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/ip257_en_1.pdf
Eurostat (2023). Demography of Europe: interactive edition.
Ferrera, M. (1996). The ‘Southern model’ of welfare in social Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, 6(1), 17-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879600600102
Ferrera, M. (2007). Trent’anni dopo. Il welfare state europeo tra crisi e trasformazione. Stato e mercato, 81(3), 341-375.
Ferrera, M. & Rhodes, M. (2000). Recasting European welfare states: An introduction. West European Politics, 23(2), 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380008425364
Fischer, B., Haan, P., & Sanchez, S. S. (2022). The effect of unemployment on care provision. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 23, 100395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2022.100395
Giordano, C. (2019). The role of gender regimes in defining the dimension, the functioning and the workforce composition of paid domestic work. Feminist Review, 122(1), 95-117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0141778919851060
Giordano, C. (2022). Ethnicisation and Domesticisation. The Impact of Care, Gender and Migration Regimes on Paid Domestic Work in Europe. London: Palgrave Macmillian. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16041-7
Larsen, C. A. (2016). The institutional logic of welfare attitudes: How welfare regimes influence public support. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315556727
Leibfried, S. (1993). Towards a European welfare state? In C. Jones & C. Jones (Eds), New perspectives on the welfare state in Europe (pp. 128-151). London: Routledge.
Leitner, S. (2003). Varieties of familialism: The caring function of the family. Belgium in comparative perspective. European Societies, 5(4), 353-375. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461669032000127642
Leitner, S., & Lessenich, S. (2007). (In-)Dependence as Dependent Variable: Conceptualising and Measuring ‘De-familisation.’ In J. Clasen & N. A. Siegel (Eds.), Investigating Welfare State Change: the ‘Dependent Variable Problem’ in Comparative Analysis (pp.244–60). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781847206916.00022
León, M. (2011). Ideas, políticas y realidad: Análisis crítico de la ley de dependencia in Papeles de Economía Española. Madrid: Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorro. 129, 170-181.
León, M. & Migliavacca, M. (2013). Italy and Spain: Still the case of familistic welfare models? Population Review, 52(1), 25-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/prv.2013.0001
Lewis, J. (1992). Gender and the development of welfare regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 2(3), 159-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879200200301
Lewis, J. (2001). The Decline of the Male Breadwinner Model: Implications for Work and Care. Social Politics, 8(2), 152-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/8.2.152
Lister, R. (2002). The Dilemmas of Pendulum Politics: Balancing Paid Work, Care and Citizenship. Economy and Society, 31(4), 520-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0308514022000020661
Maestripieri, L. (2023). Women’s Involuntary Part-Time Employment and Household Economic Security in Europe. Feminist Economics, 29(4), 223-251. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2023.2251991
Mahon, R. (2018). Rethinking welfare regimes: Challenges from the South. CSSR Working Paper, no. 418.
Mok, K. H., Ku, Y. W., & Yuda, T. K. (2021). Managing the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and changing welfare regimes. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 14(1), 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2020.1861722
Naldini, M. & Jurado, T. (2013). Family and Welfare State Reorientation in Spain and Inertia in Italy from a European Perspective. Population Review, 52(1), 43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/prv.2013.0003
Naldini, M. & Saraceno, C. (2008). Social and family policies in Italy: Not totally frozen but far from structural reforms. Social Policy & Administration, 42(7), 733-748. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2008.00635.x
Naldini, M. & Saraceno, C. (2022). Changes in the Italian work-family system and the role of social policies in the last forty years. Stato e mercato, 42(1), 87-115.
OECD (2023). International Migration Outlook. Paris: OECD Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/b0f40584-en
Orloff, A. (1996). Gender in the welfare state. Annual Review of Sociology, 22(1), 51-78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.51
Österle, A. & Hammer, E. (2007). Care allowances and the formalization of care arrangements: the Austrian experience. In C. Ungerson & S. Yeandle (Eds.), Cash for Care in Developed Welfare States (pp. 32-59). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Parsons, T. (1951). The Social System. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Pfau-Effinger, B. (2002). Changing welfare states and labour markets in the context of European gender arrangements. In J. G. Andersen & P. H. Jensen (Eds.), Changing labour markets, welfare policies and citizenship (pp. 234-251). Bristol: Policy Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781861342720.003.0011
Piore, M. (1979). Birds of Passage. Migrant labor and industrial societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511572210
Puppa, F. D. (2012). Being part of the family: Social and working conditions of female migrant care workers in Italy. NORA-Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 20(3), 182-198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2012.685494
Rummery, K. (2009). A comparative discussion of the gendered implications of cash-for-care schemes: Markets, independence and social citizenship in crisis? Social Policy and Administration, 43, 634-648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2009.00685.x
Sainsbury, D. (Ed.) (1994). Gendering welfare states. London: Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250518
Saraceno, C. (1994). The ambivalent familism of the Italian welfare state. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender. State & Society, 1(1), 60-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/1.1.60
Saraceno, C. & Keck, W. (2010). Can We Identify Intergenerational Policy Regimes in Europe? European Societies, 12(5), 675-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2010.483006
Saraceno, C. & Keck, W. (2008). The institutional framework of inter-generational family obligations in Europe. A conceptual and methodological overview. Multilinks Project, WZB.
Sarasa, S. & Billingsley, S. (2008). Personal and Household Care Giving from Adult Children to Parents and Social Stratification. In C. Saraceno (Ed), Families, Ageing and Social Policy (pp. 123-146). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781848445147.00012
Shutes, I. (2014). Divisions of care labour: Care for older people and migrant workers in England. In M. León (Ed.), The transformation of care in European societies (pp. 301-323). London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137326515_14
Simonazzi, A. (2009). Care regimes and national employment models. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(2), 211-232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/ben043
Solà, A. G. (2016). Constructing work travel inequalities: the role of household gender contract. Journal of Transport Geography, 53, 32-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.04.007
Svallfors, S. (2003). Welfare regimes and welfare opinions: A comparison of eight western countries. Social Indicators Research, 64(3), 495-520. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025931414917
Tönnies, F. (1887). Community and Society. Leipzig: Fues’s Verlag.
Trifiletti, R. (1999). Southern European welfare regimes and the worsening position of women. Journal of European Social Policy, 9(1), 49-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879900900103
Van Hooren, F. (2011). Caring migrants in European welfare regimes: The politics and practice of migrant labour filling the gaps in social care, European University Institute (Doctoral dissertation, European University Institute).
Van Hooren, F. (2014). Migrant care work in Europe: Variety and institutional determinants. In M. León (Ed.), The transformation of care in European societies (pp. 62-82). London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137326515_4
Walby, S. (2009). Globalization and inequalities: Complexity and contested modernities. London: SAGE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446269145
Walby, S. (2020). Varieties of gender regimes. Social Politics, 27(3), 414-431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa018
Weber, M. (1905). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London: Routledge.
Weicht, B. (2010). Caring as a moral practice: an analysis of the construction of care for elderly people in Austria and the UK (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham).
Williams, F. (2011). Making Connections in the Transnational Political Economy of Care. Making Connections: Migration, Gender and Care Labour in Transnational Context. University of Oxford, 14-15th April 2011.
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Marco Ciziceno
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Manuscript authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions for any copyrighted materials included within manuscripts. The authors must provide permission letters, when appropriate, to the Society Register Editors.
In addition, all published papers in Society Register are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License.
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern CC BY-NC 4.0 as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.