Scandinavian countries are usually assumed to be less disposed than other countries to involve associations as welfare producers. They are assumed to be so disinclined due to their strong statutory welfare involvement, which “crowds-out” associational welfare production; their ethnic, cultural and religious homogeneity, which leads to a lack of minority interests in associational welfare production; and to their strong working-class organisations, which are supposed to prefer statutory welfare solutions. These assumptions are questioned here, because they cannot account for salient associational welfare production in the welfare areas of housing and child-care in two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway.In order to approach an explanation for the phenomena of associational welfare production in Sweden and Norway, some refinements of current theories are suggested. First, it is argued that welfare associations usually depend on statutory support in order to produce welfare on a salient level. Second, it is supposed that any form of particularistic interest in welfare production, not only ethnic, cultural or religious minority interests, can lead to associational welfare.With respect to these assumptions, this thesis supposes that political parties are organisations that, on one hand, influence statutory decisions regarding associational welfare production, and, on the other hand, pursue particularistic interests…
Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Welfare associations: Definition and assumptions
2. Earlier research on the preconditions of associational welfare provision
3. Statutory and associational welfare activity
4. Political parties
II. DAY-CARE IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY
1. Introduction: Day-care
2. Associational limitations and statutory intervention
3. Statutory intervention and associational provision
4. Associations in day-care
5. Partisan policies
6. Parties and associations: Christian People’s Party, Housewives’ Federation and denominational associations
7. Day-care: Summary of main findings
III. HOUSING IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY
1. Introduction
2. Associational limitations and statutory intervention
3. Statutory intervention
4. The involved associations: cooperatives of differing character
5. Partisan policies
6. Parties and associations
7. Housing: Summary of main findings
IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
1. Introduction
2. Partisan policies concerning welfare associations
3. Partisan interests in welfare associations
4. Outlook: Changing parties and associations
APPENDICES
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
NOTES
REFERENCES
Author: Grosse, Ingrid
Source: Umea University
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