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Welfare, Regulation and Democracy
Author(s)
Date Issued
2014-11
Date Available
2015-08-26T09:56:48Z
Abstract
Changes in the delivery of public services in the industrialised countries over the last forty years have profoundly changed the ways for delivering and thinking about welfare state provision. For some the shift from welfare state to regulatory state indicates that priority is being given to markets and market failure over traditional welfare concerns with redistribution. Such an analysis leads to concerns about a loss of democratic control. For others, the sharpening of public policy institutions and instruments associated with regulatory governance offers the opportunity to deliver public services in a manner which is both more transparent and more efficient, enhancing outcomes, but without deviating from traditional goals. Changes to provision and oversight of welfare state services in Ireland in the past thirty years have included a degree of fragmentation, but also some consolidation, particularly in the health area. The changes in delivery have sustained a long established pattern of providing services through distinct units, both public and private. The changes in regulatory apparatus are more distinctive. In this paper I explore the character and significance of changes in both delivery and regulation and conclude by evaluating these changes from the perspective of democratic governance, identifying risks, but also indicating how fragmented arrangements for delivering and regulating public services may contribute to enhancing democratic engagement.
Sponsorship
Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Other Sponsorship
Economic and Social Research Council
Type of Material
Book Chapter
Publisher
Social Justice Ireland
Journal
Healy, S. and Reynolds, B. (eds). Planning and Delivering a Fairer Future: Values, Democracy and Service Provision
Start Page
89
End Page
108
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISBN
9781907501135
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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