Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T08:49:57.321Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Developmental Social Contract and Basic Income in Denmark

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2018

Louise Haagh*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics, University of York, UK E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

In this article, I discuss why steps towards basic income (BI) ‘from within’ the state are institutionally plausible in Denmark, yet this ‘inside-out’ transition is contested in Danish society. I argue that implementation since the 1990s of the flexicurity regime – labour flexibility with social transfers and training – has stretched the developmental tradition that historically has fed the case for broadly inclusive reforms. An ‘Equality Paradox’ is shaped by two relationships, between high social equality and feasibility of basic income, on the one hand, and high social equality and developmentalism, on the other. The upshot is basic income rests on developmentalism indirectly, as state-promotion of economic equality, cooperative public finance, and human development-oriented governing of core institutions all contribute to the feasibility of a BI reform. The ‘Equality Paradox’ explains why rising inequality and precarity in Denmark make a case for basic income within the public sector but the source of this inequality – neo-liberalism – also puts it at risk.

Type
Themed Section: Basic Income in European Welfare States: Opportunities and Constraints
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Kommune, Aarhus (2017) Lantidsledige tager Teten, Statusnotat, Aarhus: Aarhus Kommune.Google Scholar
Adler, M. (2016) ‘A new Leviathan’, Journal of Law and Society, 43, 2, 195227.Google Scholar
Anker, N. (1998) ‘Eleverne, virksomhederne og de nyudlærte’, PhD Afhandling, Handelshøjskolen i København.Google Scholar
Ankestyrelsen (2017) Ankestyrelsens praksisundersøgelse om Kommunernes Anvendelse af Sanktioner, Marts, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen (2008) Evaluering af NY CHANCE TIL ALLE, Copenhagen, December 2008.Google Scholar
Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen (2007) Afbureaukratisering på Beskæftigelsesområdet – Fase 2 Temaanalyse, Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Beskæftigelsesministeriet (2016) Philip, N. og Sørenen, L. ‘Analyse Effekt af at få en Sanktion for Ledige I Kontanthjælpsystemet’, Copenhagen: November.Google Scholar
Beskæftigelsesudvalget, Bilag 250, 2. June, 2017, BEU Alm.del Bilag 250 Offentligt 2016/7.Google Scholar
Birnbaum, S., Ferrarini, T., Nelson, K. and Palme, J. (2017) The Generational Welfare Contract, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Bjørn, N. H. and Høj, A. K. (2014) Understøttelse ved Ledighed i Syv Lande, Det Økonomiske Råds Sekretariat, Arbejdspapi 2014: 2.Google Scholar
Brady, D. and Bostie, A. (2013) ‘Paradoxes lost and found’, http://pseweb.eu/ydepot/semin/texte1314/BRA2014PAR.pdf [accessed 17.07.2018].Google Scholar
Caswell, D., Andersen, H. L., Høybye-Mortensen, M., Karkussen, A. M. and Thuesen, S. L. (2011) Når Kassen Smækkes I, AKF Rapport, Anvendt KommunalForskning, November.Google Scholar
Christensen, E. (2008) The Heretical Political Discourse, Aalborg: Allborg University Press.Google Scholar
Christensen, E. (2017) På Vej til Borgerløn, Aarhus: Hovedland.Google Scholar
Cuber, D. (2018) Job Advisor in Kalundborg job centre, testimony given on the occasion of the Basic Income in Danish conference, Christiansborg, 15th March.Google Scholar
Danmarks Statistik (2017) ‘Flere Medlemmer as Lønmodtagerorganisationer’, Denmark.Google Scholar
Danske A-Kasser (2014) ‘7 ud af 10 er medlem af an A-Kasse’, https://danskeakasser.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/7-ud-af-10-er-medlem-af-en-a-kasse [accessed 15.03.2018]Google Scholar
Ervik, R., Kildal, N. and Nilssen, E. (2017) New Contractualism in European Welfare State Policies, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1985) Politics Against Markets – The Social Democratic Road to Power, Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999) Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
European Social Survey (2017) http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org [accessed 18.02.2018].Google Scholar
Fredericksen, A.-M. (2016) Interview with Anne-Marie Fredericksen, senior consultant social worker, Aarhus Council, Aarhus, 5th December 2016.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2002) Citizenship, Labour Markets and Democratization, Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2011) ‘Basic income, social democracy and control over time’, Policy and Politics, 39, 1, 4164.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2012) ‘Democracy, public finance, and property rights in economic stability’, Polity, 44, 4, 542–87.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2015) ‘Alternative social states and the basic income debate’, Basic Income Studies, August, 45–81.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2017) ‘Basic income as a pivoting reform’, Nature Human Behaviour, 1, Article No. 0125, 12th June.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (2018) The Case for Basic Income, Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
Haagh, L. (forthcoming) ‘Public ownership within varieties of capitalism – regulatory foundations for welfare and freedom’, in White, S. and Cummine, A. (eds.), Special Issue on Public Ownership in the Twenty-First Century, International Journal of Public Policy.Google Scholar
Hansen, H., Lind, J. and Møller, I. H. (2017) ‘An argument and an outline for a new employment scheme’, Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 7, 2, 38.Google Scholar
Hills, J. (2015) Good Times – Bad Times – The Welfare Myth of Them and Us, Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Hvid, M. L. (2016) ‘Indentured servitude and convict labour in the Danish-Norwegian West Indies, 1671–1755’, Scandinavian Journal of History, 41, 4–5, 541–64.Google Scholar
Jensen, H. (1936) Dansk Jordpolitik 1757–1919, København: Gyldendanske boghandel – Nordisk Forlag.Google Scholar
Jensen, V. (2018) Interview with Vibeke Jensen, Head of Department, Sociale Forhold og Beskæftigelse, Aarhus Council, Aarhus, 5th December 2016.Google Scholar
Jonassen, C. T. (1983) Value Systems and Personality in a Western Civilization, Columbus: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Josefsen, A. (2018) Speech given to the conference Basic Income in Danish, Danish Parliament, 15th March, Owner of the leadership firm Alfred AS, and former Administrative Director of IRMA.Google Scholar
Kananen, J. (2014) The Nordic Welfare State in Three Eras, Surrey: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Klos, M. (2014) ‘Rådighed og sanktioner’, AK-Samvirke, Maj 2014 Version 3.Google Scholar
Kongshøj-Madsen, P. (2003) ‘Flexicurity through labour market policies and institutions in Denmark’, Auer, P. and Cazes, S. (eds.), Employment Stability in an Age of Flexibility, Geneva: International Labour Organisation.Google Scholar
Korpi, W. and Palme, J. (1998) ‘The paradox of redistribution and strategies of equality’, American Sociological Review, 63, 5, 661–87.Google Scholar
Kirk, V. S. (2015) ‘Salami-metoden: Så skæres der igen et par skiver af dagpengesystemet’, Politiken, 15th October.Google Scholar
Loftager, J. (2004) Politisk Offentlighed og Demokrati I Danmark, Århus Universitetsforlag.Google Scholar
Marx, I., Salanauskaite, L. and Verbist, G. (2013) ‘The paradox of redistribution revisited’, IZA Discussion Paper Series, IZA DP No. 7414, May.Google Scholar
Meyer, N. I., Helveg Petersen, K. and Sørensen, V. (1978) Oprør fra Midten, Gyldendals Bogklub: Nordisk Forlag.Google Scholar
National Audit Office (2016) Benefit Sanctions, HC 628 Session 2016–17, London: National Audit Office, 30 November.Google Scholar
Nothin, T. (1926) Social demokratisk Jordpolitik, Stockholk: Tidens Förlag.Google Scholar
OECD (2000) OECD Employment Outlook 2000, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2000-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2002) OECD Employment Outlook 2002, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2002-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2007) OECD Employment Outlook 2007, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2007-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2009) OECD Employment Outlook 2009, OECD Publishing, Paris: https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2009-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2010) OECD Employment Outlook 2010, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2010-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2011) OECD Education at a Glance 2011, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/48631582.pdfGoogle Scholar
OECD (2012) OECD Employment Outlook 2013, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2013-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2013) OECD Employment Outlook 2013, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2013-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2014a) Education at a Glance 2014, OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2014-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2014b) OECD Family Database 2014, http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm.Google Scholar
OECD (2015) OECD Employment Outlook 2015, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2015-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2016a) OECD Employment Outlook 2016, Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/empl_outlook-2016-en.Google Scholar
OECD (2016b) OECD National Accounts at a Glance 2016, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=NAAG.Google Scholar
OECD (2016c) Tax Revenue Statistics 2016, OECD Publishing, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=REV.Google Scholar
Offe, C. (1984) Contradictions of the Welfare State, Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Petersen, J. H. (2017) ‘From unilateral towards reciprocal social policies’, Ervik, R., Kildal, N. and Nilssen, E. (eds.), New Contractualism in European Welfare State Policies, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sandberg, L. G. (1978) ‘Banking and economic growth in Sweden before World War I’, The Journal of Economic History, 38, 3, 650–80.Google Scholar
Sandberg, L. G. (1979) ‘The case of the impoverished sophisticate’, Journal of Economic History, XXXIX, 1, March, 225–41.Google Scholar
Sanders, A. R. D., Sandvik, P. T. and Storli, E. (2016) ‘Dealing with globalisation: the Nordic countries and inward FDI, 1990-1930’, Business History, 58, 8, 1210–35.Google Scholar
Solås, S. (2018) Social worker, testimony given on the occasion of the Basic Income in Danish conference, Christiansborg, 15th March.Google Scholar
Sorgenfrey, B. (2018) Speech given to the conference ‘Basic Income in Danish’, held at the Danish Parliament, 15th March.Google Scholar
Standing, G. (1999) Global Labour Flexibility, Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Standing, G. (2014) The Precariat Charter, Norfolk: BloomsburyGoogle Scholar
Steinmo, S. (2010) The Evolution of Modern States, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Svallfors, S. (2006) The Moral Economy of Class, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sørensen, F. (2016) ‘Basisindkomst er ikke Svaret på Udfordringerne’ in Nytfokus, December, 8–11.Google Scholar
Tesfaye, M. (2013) Kloge Hænder – et Forsvar for Håndværk og Faglighed, Copenhagen: Gyldendal.Google Scholar
The Money Charity (2016) http://themoneycharity.org.uk/money-statistics/, 5th July [accessed 03.02.2018].Google Scholar
Thelen, K. (2014) Varieties of Liberalization, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thelen, K. and Streeck, W. (2005) Beyond Continuity, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tilly, C. (1985), ‘War making and state making as organized crime’, in Evans, P., Rueschemeyer, D. and Skocpol, T. (eds.), Bringing the State Back In, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Undervisningsministeriet (2004) Privatskoler i Danmark, http://pub.uvm.dk/2004/oecd/bil03.html, points 95–97 [accessed 14.08.2015].Google Scholar
Van Parijs, P. (1995) Real Freedom for All, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Van Parijs, P. and Vanderborght, Y. (2017) Basic Income, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Vanderborght, Y. (2006) ‘Why trade unions oppose Basic Income’, Basic Income Studies, 1, 1, 120.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Haagh supplementary material

Table A1

Download Haagh supplementary material(File)
File 465.6 KB