Welfare State: where it went yesterday, and what to do tomorrow

Research Article
  • Olga A. Aleksandrova Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation; Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russia. a762rab@mail.ru ORCID ID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-9242
    Elibrary Author_id 257224
    ResearchID B-1306-2017
How to Cite
Aleksandrova O.A. Welfare State: where it went yesterday, and what to do tomorrow. Population. 2022. Vol. 25. No. 2. P. 6-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2022.25.2.1 (in Russ.).

Abstract

Social state as a mechanism for ensuring a decent level and quality of life for population has always been in the focus of scientific interests of N. M. Rimashevskaya. In memory of the famous scientist, the article presents an analysis of what happened to the social state in Russia in the past three decades, and argues the need to overcome the existing negative trends leading to its dismantling. Conclusions and recommendations are based on a study of the history of the formation of various models of welfare state, the operation of its economic mechanism, modern challenges to welfare state, as well as analysis of the Russian legislation, budget statistics, and results of sociological studies on the impact of reforms in the social sphere on the level and quality of life of Russians. It is shown that in the formation of a welfare state in the post-Soviet Russia, three stages can be distinguished, differing in the economic capabilities of the state and imperious rhetoric, but united by neoliberal ideology manifested in the desire to reduce social spending and commercialize the social sphere. The reduction of social obligations of the state forces citizens to independently decide on the issues of acquiring housing, medical treatment, and material support for old age. In conditions of low incomes, this pushes people to the financial market, in the development of which the state is interested, that fully fits into the mainstream of financialized capitalism and neoliberal ideology. The far from pleasing socio-demographic and economic indicators demonstrated by Russia against this background show the need for a turn towards the true development of a welfare state, and the events of early 2022 set this task with the utmost urgency. The article outlines the key components of the proposed pivot, related to rejection of the neoliberal dogmas about the negative impact on economic growth of large-scale social spending and income redistribution policies based on progressive income taxation, about selective social policy as an allegedly effective tool to combat poverty, etc.
Keywords:
welfare state, socio-economic policy, social services, reform of public institutions, budget expenditures, commercialization of the social sphere

Author Biography

Olga A. Aleksandrova, Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation; Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russia.
Doctor of Economics, Deputy Director for Research, Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Professor, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation; Analyst, Research Institute for Healthcare Organization and Medical Management of Moscow Healthcare Department

References

1. Gurova T., Fadeev V. V levyy povorot rossiyskiy kapitalizm ne vpishetsya [Russian capitalism will not fit into the left turn]. Ekspert [Expert]. 1995. No. 14. Р. 12-16. (in Russ.)

2. Boldyrev O. Yu., Nenakhova Yu. S. Problemy realizatsii sotsial'nogo gosudarstva i konstitutsionnaya reforma [Problems of the implementation of social state and the constitutional reform 2020]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2020. Vol. 23. No. 4. Р. 71-82. DOI: 10.19181/population.2020.23.4.7. (in Russ.)

3. Arthur Ch. Financial Literacy Education, Neoliberalism, the Consumer and the Citizen. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271206480 (Accessed: 15.05.2019). DOI: 10.1007/978-94-6091-918-3.

4. Kulikova T. Yu. Nakopitel'naya pensiya v usloviyakh stabil'no nizkikh i otritsatel'nykh protsentnykh stavok [Funded pension under the conditions of consistently low and negative interest rates]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2019. Vol. 22. No. 4. Р.51-61. DOI: 10.19181/1561-7785-2019-00038. (in Russ.)

5. Taylor-Gooby P. Social Change, Social Welfare and Social Science. New York, London. 1995. 244 p.

6. Social Policy in Western Europe and the USA, 1950-80: An Assessment. Ed. by Girod R. et al. London. Basingstoke. 1985. 128 p.

7. Shevyakov A. Yu., Kiruta A. Ya. Neravenstvo, ekonomicheskiy rost i demografiya: neissledovannyye vzaimosvyazi [Inequality, Economic Growth and Demography: Unexplored Interrelations]. Moscow. M-Studio. 2009. 192 p. (in Russ.)

8. Rothstein B. Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State. Cambridge. 1998. 254 p.

9. Chelovek sotsial'nyy kak tsel' i istochnik razvitiya Rossii [Social Man as the Goal and Source of Russia's Development]. Scientific report. Ed. by O. A. Aleksandrova and V. V. Lokosov. Moscow. ISEPN RAN [Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population RAS]. 2018. 87 p. (in Russ.)
Article

Received: 10.04.2022

Accepted: 06.06.2022

Citation Formats
Other cite formats:

APA
Aleksandrova, O. A. (2022). Welfare State: where it went yesterday, and what to do tomorrow. Population, 25(2), 6-18. https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2022.25.2.1
Section
QUALITY, STANDARDS AND CONDITIONS OF LIFE