Abstract
There is no lack of literature addressing the paramount issue of the European welfare state within the last five decades by using different concepts, theoretical frames, approaches and methodologies borrowed from a wide array of social sciences and humanities. And yet Colin Hay and Daniel Wincott manage to bring something new into this bloc of literature. The Political Economy of European Welfare Capitalism is distinct in its accuracy in both laying down the nature and genesis of the welfare state, and also describing the challenges it faces in the modern-day global economy. The authors start from the evolution of the welfare state, portraying its main historical stages and offering their characteristics. Chapter 2 presents essential elements of welfare capitalism, its varieties and regime-clusters. After laying down the evolution and the modern content and structure of the subject matter, the authors turn to such oft-mentioned trends as globalisation and Europeanisation, and their implications for the welfare state. Major highlights here are welfare retrenchment, the ‘incommensurability thesis’, and a reassessment of the globalisation orthodoxy. After dealing with globalisation, the authors research a no less controversial argument about the incompatibility of maintaining competitiveness, while preserving generous welfare regimes and juxtaposing public spending with economic growth. While generous welfare regimes are commonly considered to be macroeconomic stabilisers in times of crises, they do not imply ineffectiveness, low productivity or lack of competitiveness. On the contrary, European welfare states and high competitiveness are not mutually exclusive. Chapter 6 presents an extensive discussion of convergence, starting with its concept and types, then matches convergence and divergence, and predicts continuing diversity in welfare regimes. Finally, the book addresses perspectives of the welfare state through the lens of the global financial crisis and its impact on Europe’s wellbeing. The text is supplemented with a moderate number of tables and a quite significant number of figures that help present the data and trends in a more digestible manner.
There is no lack of scholars who announced after the world financial crisis of 2008 that capitalism as we know it is doomed, or, indeed, gone altogether. The echo of these announcements is still being heard after five years, with capitalism ‘as we know it’ alive and well, and with no major changes in sight. In distinction from these maximalists, Hay and Wincott are more moderate in their estimates and predictions, including on the impact of globalisation on the European regional welfare state models. This modesty is based on detailed meticulous analysis, thorough work with the data, and a brilliantly utilised political economic approach. If not for this scrupulous level of analysis, the classical topic and structure would be a disadvantage of this work. However, the high level of detail-oriented research guarantees the classical approach as the best fit, with the authors’ skills well up to the task. Moderate does not mean not critical. The level of criticism the authors demonstrate in their views on recent EU policy initiatives is high. It is high enough to make this work of interest to both those who oppose EU-unification and to those who support it, especially when it comes to the welfare state.
The classical structure of the work does not prevent the authors from using alternative approaches. Despite its classical character, the book challenges some commonly accepted views regarding Europe’s infamous welfare state and its particular stages. For instance, Hay and Wincott argue that the suggestion that the 1980s was a golden age for ‘social Europe’ is misguided (p. 160). While considering the ‘Washington Consensus’ and the Lisbon Strategy, the authors point out that Europe is still at an early stage of developing social policy coordination, including its legal component. Another interesting point the authors make in regard to major developmental trends is that of convergence. Hay and Wincott point out, ‘The recent development of European welfare states may not be a story of divergence, but it is most certainly not a story of convergence either’ (p. 183). This point is based on the authors’ analysis of the data, which shows that each welfare regime cluster has been moving along its own trajectory starting in the mid-1990s, and these include Liberal, Continental, and Nordic regimes. In conclusion, the authors point out that while the similarity in political approaches remains, the likelihood of divergent outcomes remains high. Specifically, retrenchment and austerity as major policy directions shared by different welfare regimes will not produce convergence. The key is in the implementation at different paces and differential impositions of austerity. Given the excellent and accessible language of this work, the book may be highly recommended to scholars specialising in welfare-state policies and regimes, public officials, state bureaucrats, and policy practitioners working on welfare-state reforms. In the context of EU enlargement, those countries which are currently at the crossroads in terms of choosing the most appropriate social policy system may find it extremely useful to learn that the European welfare state is far from being homogeneous, and that despite the processes of globalisation and unification, different welfare state regimes are here to stay for a while. In addition, the book will be of interest to readers outside academia who might be concerned with the future of the European welfare capitalism, and hence their own future.