Decline of Universalistic Welfare States? : A Study of Swedish Family Policy

Abstract

The disputes whether the universalistic welfare states have declined or prospered have been around for many years. As advanced countries facing common socio-economic challenges, many expectations that the universalistic welfare states would encounter difficulties have arisen. Main purposes of this thesis are three

to contribute to the contentions over the prosperity and decline of the universalistic welfare states, to provide the specific country case regarding the debates, and to explain the continuity of the universalism with the path dependence theory. The thesis argues that the principle of the universalism has not retrenched at least in the area of the Swedish family policy. This means that the universalism in the Swedish family policies has not declined in any terms of generosity, comprehensiveness or universality. Also, the path dependence process, with the robust social consensus and strong bureaucracy in Sweden, enabled the continuity of the universalism.