Welfare Restructuring in the 1990s

Paper Summary:

A common trend of reduction of a state's social policy scope after a fiscal crisis has been reflected in the reform path pursued by Ireland ,and even more so ,the case of Bulgaria. The paper shows that, in both cases, the start of reforms has been triggered by a crisis, and the ongoing reform strategies are being shaped by the different economic pressures and political priorities pursued by the two countries, which are standing at different phases of economic development and integration with the European Union. The paper explains that the cases of Ireland and Bulgaria are informative of the diversity of responses different polities may adopt in the face of similar economic challenges, like fiscal imbalance. While Ireland was able to confront the situation in a framework of a broad political and social consensus, in Bulgaria, the beginning of a consistent reform process was only possible after a reform-minded party was able to collect the votes necessary to form a government. The paper also makes extensive use of tables.

From the Paper:

"The economic success of the country over the period covered by the first agreement (PNR) was apparently convincing enough to keep the policy to this day. Throughout the 1990s labour relations in Ireland are dealt with via three-year agreements with titles such as "Program for Economic and Social Progress," "Program for Competitiveness and Work," and (starting 2000) "Program for Prosperity and Fairness." The late 1980s and early 1990s were marked by a great progress in reducing deficit and attracting FDI. Unemployment however remained a major concern throughout the beginning of the reform period (standing at 17.4% in 1986); it only began to decline since 1993. Nonetheless now, more than a decade after the beginning of reforms in Ireland unemployment is also fully contained at a level of around 4% in 2000. Active labor market policies absorbed as much as 1.75% GDP in the mid-1990s."

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