Weathering the storm: convergence, divergence and the robustness of the worlds of welfare

Bambra, C.

doi:10.1300/j185v03n03_02

Weathering the storm: convergence, divergence and the robustness of the worlds of welfare

Bambra, C.

Authors

C. Bambra

Abstract

Esping-Andersen's 'three worlds of welfare' typology has been the subject of an intensive and unrelenting academic debate for the past decade. This debate has been fairly extensive in its, overwhelmingly negative, evaluation but it has ignored what is arguably the most important aspect of the assessment of the typology: its robustness and validity over time. This paper provides such an assessment by presenting an updated version of Esping-Andersen's decommodification index. It compares the new index with Esping-Andersen's original and uses it to judge both the continuing validity of the 'three worlds of welfare' and broader theories that have been circulated about the convergence of welfare states.

Citation

Bambra, C. (2004). Weathering the storm: convergence, divergence and the robustness of the worlds of welfare. Social policy journal, 3(3), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1300/j185v03n03_02

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2004
Deposit Date	Nov 7, 2008
Publicly Available Date	Jun 17, 2009
Journal	The social policy journal
Print ISSN	1533-2942
Electronic ISSN	1533-2950
Publisher	Howarth Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	3
Issue	3
Pages	3-23
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1300/j185v03n03_02
Keywords	Esping-Andersen, Welfare, Welfare reform, Globalization.