Retrenchment, reproduction, modernization: pension politics and the decline of the German breadwinner model
Retrenchment, reproduction, modernization: pension politics and the decline of the German breadwinner model
The German welfare state in gendered welfare state analyses is widely recognized as a strong male breadwinner model: its institutions support the traditional division of labour and low female labour force participation. This article seeks to show that due to diminishing political support this model is eroding.
The article starts from the assumption that the welfare state is a mediator between dynamic social and economic requirements. Therefore social policy regulations need to be adjusted continuously. This need has intensified over the last decade because of growing global economic competition and the collapse of the East German economy. The way social policymakers reacted to this pressure for reform shows no active support for the policies that help to maintain women's economic dependency on 'breadwinners'. This will be demonstrated by an analysis of the positions of the political actors involved in two major pension reforms, one in 1989 and one in 1997. According to their public statements these actors were motivated by three factors: firstly, they agreed that retrenchment measures were necessary; secondly, the intention to secure generational reproduction by improving carers' independent rights was dominant; thirdly, reforms were motivated by the intention to make the pension system more just. The direction of the reforms is to reduce the economic attractiveness of marriage and to create stronger incentives to be employed.
195-211
Meyer, Traute
ee469bf0-ab32-43ac-9f25-1261c24123fe
1998
Meyer, Traute
ee469bf0-ab32-43ac-9f25-1261c24123fe
Meyer, Traute
(1998)
Retrenchment, reproduction, modernization: pension politics and the decline of the German breadwinner model.
Journal of European Social Policy, 8 (3), .
(doi:10.1177/095892879800800301).
Abstract
The German welfare state in gendered welfare state analyses is widely recognized as a strong male breadwinner model: its institutions support the traditional division of labour and low female labour force participation. This article seeks to show that due to diminishing political support this model is eroding.
The article starts from the assumption that the welfare state is a mediator between dynamic social and economic requirements. Therefore social policy regulations need to be adjusted continuously. This need has intensified over the last decade because of growing global economic competition and the collapse of the East German economy. The way social policymakers reacted to this pressure for reform shows no active support for the policies that help to maintain women's economic dependency on 'breadwinners'. This will be demonstrated by an analysis of the positions of the political actors involved in two major pension reforms, one in 1989 and one in 1997. According to their public statements these actors were motivated by three factors: firstly, they agreed that retrenchment measures were necessary; secondly, the intention to secure generational reproduction by improving carers' independent rights was dominant; thirdly, reforms were motivated by the intention to make the pension system more just. The direction of the reforms is to reduce the economic attractiveness of marriage and to create stronger incentives to be employed.
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Published date: 1998
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Local EPrints ID: 33900
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/33900
ISSN: 0958-9287
PURE UUID: 350ad602-4a79-4905-afae-ac2d575e9d69
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Date deposited: 11 Jan 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:16
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