The Social Investment Welfare State in Europe, 1990s and 2000s: Economic Ideas and Social Policies

Since the late 1990s, new ideas and strategies concerning the role and shape of the Welfare State have been formulated. All these analyses and policy developments point towards a similar policy logic based on ‘social investment’. The aim of this paper is to map out the contours of this new perspective, both at the ideational level and in terms of the policies implemented throughout Europe. It also aims at assessing the achievements, as well as the shortcomings, of this strategy. In doing so it provides a critical analysis of the content and coherence of the social investment ideas and policies and opens up for a discussion of whether the social investment perspective can provide adequate responses to challenges such as population ageing, the impact of the economic crisis and environmental issues