Law and Public Policy

D03 - Social Policy

Date: May 30 | Time: 10:30am to 12:00pm | Location: Classroom - CL 345 Room ID:15704

Chair/Président/Présidente : Daniel Béland (University of Saskatchewan)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Katherine Boothe (McMaster University)

Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too? Targeting Within Universalism: Olivier Jacques (McGill University), Alain Noël (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Debates on social policy have long opposed universalism and targeting. For some, programs for the poor will always remain poor programs, and the best way to reduce poverty is to develop universal programs supported by the middle class. There is no logic, respond others, in giving family allowances to the wealthy banker’s wife, and it is better to target the truly needy. This debate is still with us, but most scholars now accept that a mixed strategy — targeting within universalism — may well be the best option. The exact working of such an approach remains, however, far from clear. In a recent assessment, Marx and his co-authors note how similar levels of pro-poor targeting yield very different redistributive outcomes across countries (2016). In this paper, we re-examine the question with a cross-sectional comparison of OECD countries in the 2000s, using a new institutional measure of universalism that we have designed (Jacques and Noël, 2017), measures of pro-poor targeting borrowed from Marx (2013) and Zemmour (2017), and various indicators of redistribution and poverty reduction. We find that, indeed, targeting within universalism works best, but only when pro-poor selectivity is anchored in a solid universalist framework. Pro-poorness in a non-universal welfare state does not favour redistribution. Among countries with similar degree of universalism, however, it makes a difference. The cases of Denmark (targeting within universalism), France (universalism with little pro-poor transfers), and Canada (pro-poor transfers with little universalism) are used to illustrate these three worlds of redistribution.

770.Jacques.Noel.pdf

A Typology of Activation Incentives: Shannon Dinan (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Activation has received an enormous amount of attention over the past decade and a half. Despite the immense academic interest, activation policies remain difficult to compare. This is notably because these policies can be adapted multiple ways and are not confined to one policy area. Furthermore, common activation indicators, such as expenditures, can be misleading as not all activation instruments affect spending levels. These limitations notwithstanding, states continue to create and adapt activation policies. With the objective of identifying and comparing second-order change, the author proposes a typology of activation policies according to how they affect target population behavior through incentives. The typology first identifies the lever to the labor market, supply or demand. Second, it determines whether the mechanism for labor market integration is financial or human capital. In so doing, it allows for a more detailed understanding of the policy instruments adopted. This can be used as a tool in qualitative analysis to identify a change in policy instruments within and between cases.

Adding a Social Dimension to Autonomy - Aging Policy in Canada: Patrik Marier (Concordia University), Daniel Dickson (Concordia University), Anne-Marie Séguin (Institut national de la recherche scientifique), Anne-Sophie Dubé (Institut national de la recherche scientifique)
Abstract: The concept of autonomy is ubiquitous in the deployment and evaluation of services for older adults. Historically, social services for this population have targeted declines in functional, and subsequently cognitive, autonomy, which are identified using highly standardized assessment instruments administered by care workers. This narrow understanding of autonomy has been challenged repeatedly in recent studies and by older adults themselves. This project asks older adults what autonomy means to them in order to gain insight into how this concept frames their interactions with social services. Drawing from problem definition literature, we expect that the pervasiveness of functional autonomy in policy instruments will significantly shape older adults’ understandings of the universe of available service solutions. To test this expectation, we employ a mixed methods approach combining exploratory focus group research followed by a survey instrument derived from the descriptive inferences of focus group responses. This allows us to compare divergent conceptual dimensions of autonomy as they pertain to specific social service contexts within Quebec from the important perspectives of service users. In this way, we are able to assess implications for formal and informal service delivery within the province, and the viability of autonomy as a foundational concept for future social gerontological policy.

Policy Formulation in Health: Yes Minister or Bottom Up? Evidence from France and Turkey: Ozge Uluskaradag (Concordia University)
Abstract: This paper aims to provide an alternative view of politicization than what is outlined in the existing literature. It aims to elaborate on (1) different forms of politicization that exists as well as (2) the impact over policy formulation in health policy making in France and Turkey. The specific impact of different forms politicization over policy formulation has much to do with who is appointed and how they utilize policy knowledge and information as well as how information on various policy issues is derived. The institutional arrangements allow or constrain policy advice to shape and move to the decision-makers. The external check and balance institutions, i.e. Haute Autorité de Santé, Cour des Comptes (France), external evaluating agencies, social security institutes, civil society establishments not only inform policy makers while they generate their policy advice, but also can constrain some decisions taken with political considerations, thus can limit the impact of politicization over policy formulation. Over 78 semi-structured interviews with civil servants, political advisers, experts, policy makers as well as civil society representatives, this paper argues that politicization in France remains with high administrative capacity since it relies more on expertise of all kinds, utilizes evidence-based knowledge and information through horizontal policy coordination. Whereas in Turkey, politicization remains with low administrative capacity due to vertical and rather limited policy coordination.