Sozialpolitik: Konzepte, Theorien und Wirkungen

The working paper is an introduction to social policy research and it reviews central concepts, theories and effects of social policy. The concept of social policy (particularly in its German version 'Sozialpolitik') has always been a multifaceted term without a universal definition. Therefore, we discuss a narrow state-centred concept and broaden the conceptual range in sectoral, functional, and territorial dimensions. Furthermore, we critically review the dominant theories of functionalism, power resource, and institutionalism, assessing their contribution to describe and explain the origin, development, national varieties, and recent alterations of social policy. Finally, the social, economic, and political effects of social policy are discussed. The systematic survey of major contributions shows that despite substantial criticism the positive effects prevail.