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Gøsta Esping-Andersen

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Gøsta Esping-Andersen
Born(1947-11-24)24 November 1947(age 76)
Næstved,Denmark
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen
University of Wisconsin–Madison
ThesisSocial Class, Social Democracy and State Policy: Parity Policy and Party Decomposition in Denmark and Sweden[1]
Influences
Academic work
DisciplinePolitical science,Sociology
Sub-discipline
Institutions
Main interests
Notable ideas
  • Welfare Regimes
  • Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
Influenced

Gøsta Esping-Andersen(pronounced[ˈjøstæˈespe̝ŋˈɑnɐsn̩];born 24 November 1947)[2]is a Danishsociologistwhose primary focus has been on thewelfare stateand its place incapitalist economies.Jacob Hackerdescribes him as the "dean of welfare state scholars."[3]Over the past decade his research has moved towards family demographic issues. A synthesis of his work was published asFamilies in the 21st Century(Stockholm, SNS, 2016).

Esping-Andersen is a pioneer ofpower resource theory.[4]

Academic career[edit]

Esping-Andersen completed his doctoral studies at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison,writing a dissertation under the supervision ofGerald Marwell.While at Madison, Esping-Andersen also studied withErik Olin WrightandAage B. Sørensen,as well as Maurice Zeitlin, who mentored Esping-Andersen until his departure from the University of Wisconsin in 1977.[1][5]

Esping-Andersen isprofessor emeritusatPompeu Fabra UniversityinBarcelona(Spain), and member of the Scientific Committee of theJuan March Instituteand of the Board of Trustees and the Scientific Council at theIMDEASocial Sciences Institute, both inMadrid(Spain). He is a member of the American Academy of Social Sciences and the British Academy. He was awarded an honoris doctor causa from theUniversity of Copenhagenin 2012. He is now a research professor atBocconi Universityin Milan.

Major works[edit]

His most influential and highly cited book titledThe Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism[6][7]was published in 1990 and laid out three main types ofwelfare states,in which modern developed capitalist nations cluster:[a]

  • Liberal
  • Corporatist-Statist
  • Social Democratic

The traditional examples of the three types of welfare states are theUnited States(liberal),Germany(corporatist-statist) andSweden(social democratic).

Other sociologists and political scientists went on to apply his theoretical analysis to the real world. One such example is a book entitledReal Worlds of Welfare Capitalism,written byRobert E. Goodin,Bruce Headey, Ruud Muffels, and Henk-Jan Dirven.[8]While some critics claim Esping-Andersen's categories are becoming outdated, many political scientists are attracted by its intuitive simplicity.

In the past decade, his research has moved to demographic issues and in particular to the consequences of women's changing roles. He has developed a multiple equilibrium framework for the understanding of changing family behaviour. See in particular hisFamilies in the 21st Century and Esping-Andersen and Billari(2015) andRetheorizing family demographic change. Population and Development Review (2015).

Criticism[edit]

The evolving nature of welfare states often makes it difficult to categorize. Arguably, many welfare states have components from some or all typologies, making them more akin to points on a continuum rather than rigid typologies, a fact Esping-Andersen acknowledges in his writings.

According to French sociologist,Georges Menahem,Esping-Andersen's "decommodificationindex "aggregates both qualitative and quantitative variables for” sets of dimensions” which are fluid, and pertain to three very different areas. Similarly, Menahem has concerns regarding the validity of the index, and its potential for replication.[9]

In 1996, the Italian Social ScientistMaurizio Ferrera,further developed Esping-Andersen's Worlds of Welfare by identifying a fourth subtype of the welfare state model, the Southern European Model of Welfare.[10]

Bibliography[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1980).Social class, social democracy and state policy: party policy and party decomposition in Denmark and Sweden.Copenhagen: Institute of Organization and Industrial Sociology.ISBN9788770341790.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta; Zeitlin, Maurice; Friedland, Roger (1982).Political power and social theory: a research annual, volume 3.Greenwich, Connecticut: Jai Press Inc.ISBN9780892322046.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1985).Politics against markets: the social democratic road to power.Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691028422.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta; Rein, Martin; Rainwater, Lee (1987).Stagnation and renewal in social policy: the rise and fall of policy regimes.Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe.ISBN9780873323901.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990).The three worlds of welfare capitalism.Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780069028573.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1993).Changing classes stratification and mobility in post-industrial societies.London Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.ISBN9781849208253.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1996).Welfare states in transition national adaptations in global economies.London Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.ISBN9780857021861.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1999).Social foundations of postindustrial economies.Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780198742005.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta; Regini, Marino (2000).Why deregulate labour markets.Oxford UK New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199240524.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta; Gallie, Duncan; Hemerijck, Anton; Myles, John (2002).Why we need a new welfare state.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199256433.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (2007).Family formation and family dilemmas in contemporary Europe.Bilbao Spain: Fundación BBVA.ISBN9788496515352.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (2009).The incomplete revolution: adapting to women's new roles.Cambridge, UK Malden, Massachusetts: Polity.ISBN9780745643168.
  • Esping-Andersen, Gosta (2016) Families in the 21st Century (Stockholm, SNS).

Notes[edit]

  1. ^It is important to note that these categories have little to do with the contemporary labels ofAmerican politics,and rather have much more to do with generalpolitical theory.

References[edit]

  1. ^abEsping-Andersen, Gøsta (1978).Social Class, Social Democracy and State Policy: Parity Policy and Party Decomposition in Denmark and Sweden(Ph.D.). University of Wisconsin-Madison. pp. ii–iii.OCLC705977095.ProQuest302910232.
  2. ^"Esping-Andersen, Gøsta, 1947–".Library of Congress.Retrieved4 January2015.pub. info sheet (b. 11/24/47, Naestved, Denmark; Ph.D., 1978, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, sociology; Dept. of Sociology, Harvard Univ., assoc. prof., Cambridge, Mass.)
  3. ^Hacker, Jacob (2005). "Policy Drift: The Hidden Politics of US Welfare State Retrenchment".Beyond continuity:institutional change in advanced political economies.Oxford University Press.
  4. ^Olsen, Gregg M.; O'Connor, Julia S. (December 1998). "Introduction Understanding the Welfare State: Power Resources Theory and Its Critics". In O'Connor, Julia S.; Olsen, Gregg M. (eds.).Power Resource Theory and the Welfare State: A Critical Approach.University of Toronto Press. pp. 1–34.doi:10.3138/9781442678675-004.ISBN9781442678675.
  5. ^"Maurice Zeitlin (1958)".Berkeley Sociology.University of California, Berkeley.RetrievedJuly 25,2022.
  6. ^Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990).The three worlds of welfare capitalism.Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780069028573.
  7. ^Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990). "4 the Three Political Economies of the Welfare State".International Journal of Sociology.20(3): 92–123.doi:10.1080/15579336.1990.11770001.hdl:1814/22934.
  8. ^Goodin, Robert E.;Headey, Bruce; Muffels, Rudd; Dirven, Henk-Jan (1999).The real worlds of welfare capitalism.Cambridge, U.K. New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521596398.
  9. ^Menahem, Georges(October 2007)."The decommodified security ratio: A tool for assessing European social protection systems"(PDF).International Social Security Review.60(4): 69–103.doi:10.1111/j.1468-246X.2007.00281.x.S2CID64361693.
  10. ^Ferrera, Maurizio (1996)."The 'Southern Model' of Welfare in Social Europe".Journal of European Social Policy.6:17–37.doi:10.1177/095892879600600102.S2CID154404873.
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