Postgraduate Course: Social Policy (PGSP11351)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This course will provide a broad-based introduction to government activities in the social policy field, covering the main policy sectors that together comprise the social protection function of government. The scope will be systematically international and comparative, seeking to introduce students to the variety of policy approaches found in different national contexts as well as to common reform trends and dynamics in particular social policy sub-sectors. It will place a particular emphasis on the process through which social policy reforms are crafted, analysing the interplay of economic and political considerations and the management of relationships between different levels of government, on the one hand, and between governments and private stakeholders, on the other. These issues will be illustrated through case studies of recent reforms from across the developed world and testimonies from policy actors involved in these reforms. |
| Course description |
o 1. Social Protection in Capitalist Democracies
This session will define scope of social protection concept; discuss historical evolution and drivers of government¿s role in directly providing for the welfare of their population; and outline competing perspectives of relationship between social protection provision, social inequalities and the functioning of the macro- and micro-economy, including competing models of (welfare) capitalism.
The second part of the session will involve data demonstration and a small group exercise on working with comparative data on social protection and social outcomes.
o 2. Labour Market Change and Social Risk
This session will discuss the impact of the functioning of industrial and post-industrial labour markets for patterns of social risk, with reference to employment security (decline then re-emergence of precarious employment), wage and income inequalities (skill-biased technological change and ¿shrinking middle¿) and in-work poverty. Functional fit between different approaches to social protection provision and different labour market contexts will be explored. Potential ¿recalibration conflicts¿ between e.g. ¿insiders¿ and ¿outsiders¿ will be discussed.
The second part of the session will involve a discussion of the social policy implications of the changed labour market structure.
Possible policy-actor input: Resolution Foundation
o 3. Socio-Demographic Change and Social Risk
This session will discuss ageing, changes in the family and the gender division of labour and fertility trends in relation to dependency rates and changing social risk profiles (¿new social risks¿). Functional fit between different approaches to social protection and evolving socio-demographic contexts will be explored. Potential ¿recalibration conflicts¿ around social divisions of age (intergenerational conflict) and gender will be discussed.
The second part of the session will involve a discussion of the social policy implications of ageing societies.
Possible policy-actor input: AGE Platform-EU
o 4. The Governance of Social Protection
This session will discuss the variety of avenues through which social protection is organised and governed, with reference to the interplay between different levels of government and the mixed-economy of public, occupational/collectively bargained and private arrangements. The discussion will also look at how governments can use different combinations of direct public provision, regulation and financing to meet social protection goals. Importance of expanding welfare markets (insurance or service provision) for private companies will be emphasised, as will role of the voluntary sector.
The second part of the session will involve a discussion of the governance of social and labour market policy in post-devolution Scotland.
Possible policy-actor input: Scottish Executive
o 5. Childcare and Parental Leaves & Sabbaticals
The policy sessions all aim to provide students with a) an introduction of the specific challenges, trade-offs and choice-sets facing policy makers in the sectors of childcare and parental leaves and sabbaticals; b) an overview of alternative governance frameworks and policy approaches to childcare and parental leaves and sabbaticals and their impact on relevant aggregate and distributional outcomes cross-nationally; c) an understanding of the data sources and methodologies deployed to evaluate policy performance nationally and internationally; and d) a case study of a high profile reform in a strategically selected case, to illustrate the various constraints on policy development in the area of childcare and parental leaves and sabbaticals.
Reform Case-study: TBC
Possible policy actor input: TBC
o 6. Unemployment Protection
The policy sessions all aim to provide students with a) an introduction of the specific challenges, trade-offs and choice-sets facing policy makers in the sector of unemployment protection; b) an overview of alternative governance frameworks and policy approaches to unemployment protection and their impact on relevant aggregate and distributional outcomes cross-nationally; c) an understanding of the data sources and methodologies deployed to evaluate policy performance nationally and internationally; and d) a case study of a high profile reform in a strategically selected case, to illustrate the various constraints on policy development in the area of unemployment protection.
Reform Case-study: Hartz IV (Germany)
Possible policy actor input: TBC
o 7. Active Labour Market Policies
The policy sessions all aim to provide students with a) an introduction of the specific challenges, trade-offs and choice-sets facing policy makers involved in active labour market policies; b) an overview of alternative governance frameworks and policy approaches to labour market policies and their impact on relevant aggregate and distributional outcomes cross-nationally; c) an understanding of the data sources and methodologies deployed to evaluate policy performance nationally and internationally; and d) a case study of a high profile reform in a strategically selected case, to illustrate the various constraints on policy development in the area.
Reform Case study: The Work Programme (UK)
Possible policy actor input: Tony Wilson, Director of Policy at CESI and ex-DWP
o 8. Pensions
The policy sessions all aim to provide students with a) an introduction of the specific challenges, trade-offs and choice-sets facing policy makers in the sector of pensions; b) an overview of alternative governance frameworks and policy approaches to pensions and their impact on relevant aggregate and distributional outcomes cross-nationally; c) an understanding of the data sources and methodologies deployed to evaluate policy performance nationally and internationally; and d) a case study of a high profile reform in a strategically selected case, to illustrate the various constraints on policy development in the area of pensions.
Reform Case study: TBC
Potential policy actor input: TBC
o 9. Long-term Care
The policy sessions all aim to provide students with a) an introduction of the specific challenges, trade-offs and choice-sets facing policy makers involved in long-term care; b) an overview of alternative governance frameworks and policy approaches to long-term care and their impact on relevant aggregate and distributional outcomes cross-nationally; c) an understanding of the data sources and methodologies deployed to evaluate policy performance nationally and internationally; and d) a case study of a high profile reform in a strategically selected case, to illustrate the various constraints on policy development in the area of long-term care.
Reform Case study: TBC (Dilnot Commission (UK))
Potential policy actor input: TBC
o 10. Presentation of Social Policy Briefs
Students will present their policy briefs through the medium of a series of brief presentations, and receive preliminary feedback from their peers and the session leaders ahead of final submission
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
147 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
55% Social policy briefing paper (2000 words)
25% Reform memo (1000 words)
20% Group case study presentation
Social policy briefing paper: Students will analyse the existing policy framework in a particular area of social policy for a given country of their choice. Using international evidence and data (the strengths and weaknesses of which they should also reflect upon), they will assess how the policy compares with international practice and assess its relative adequacy and impact. The paper should conclude with propositions for parametric reforms, including a discussion of potential obstacles and risks. The paper should be presented in a professional style along the lines of social policy publications by international organisations such as the OECD.
Reform memo: Students will prepare a memo on a recent reform of their choice (which can be, but need not be, the reform they work on for their group case study presentation) for the attention of a new Minister/Shadow Minister who would like to criticise the reform. The memo will thus synthesise and present the most important limitations/failings of the reform as identified by evaluation/academic evidence, advising the Minister/Shadow minister of the key facts and arguments to emphasise.
Group case study presentation: Working in small groups, students will make a presentation of a recent high-profile social policy reform, identifying the drivers of the reform, the stakeholders involved and their policy preferences, the reasons behind different decisions and non-decisions, and an assessment of the reform¿s impact and effects. They will also be expected to respond to questions from their peers, including named discussants.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will
¿ Be able to critically analyse the impact of economic and social change on changing patterns of social risk and demands for social protection
¿ Have familiarity with different national systems of social protection and their implications for social and economic outcomes
¿ Have detailed knowledge of a range of core social policy sectors and their contemporary developmental dynamics in different national contexts
¿ Be able to critically evaluate the key challenges and trade-offs in contemporary social policy reform across different policy sectors
¿ Have insight into the management of complex social policy reforms that involve different levels of government and/or multiple stakeholders
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Reading List
Bonoli, G. and Natali, D. (eds.) (2012) The Politics of the New Welfare State, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Busby, N. and James, G. (eds.) (2011) Families, Care Giving and Paid Work: Challenging Labour Law in the 21st Century, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Clasen, J. and Clegg, D. (eds.) (2011) Regulating the Risk of Unemployment in Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Ebbinghaus, B. (ed.) (2011) The Varieties of Pension Governance, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Hemerijck, A. (2012) Changing Welfare States, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Lewis, J. (2009) Work Family Balance, Gender and Policy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Morel, N., Palier, B. and Palme, J. (eds.) (2011) Towards a Social Investment Welfare State?, Bristol: The Policy Press
Seileib-Kaiser, M. (ed.) (2011) Welfare State Transformations, Basingstoke: Palgrave
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jay Wiggan
Tel: (0131 6)50 3939
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Lee Corcoran
Tel:
Email: |
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