Gøsta Esping-Andersen

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Gøsta Esping-Andersen (* 1947 ) is a Danish political scientist and sociologist .

He is Professor of Sociology at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. His research and publications are primarily concerned with the welfare state .

Life

Gøsta Esping-Andersen was born in Denmark in 1947 to a Swedish pianist and a Danish employee of the World Bank. He grew up in Denmark, Iran, California and Syria, where he lived with his parents. He completed his Master of Science degree at the University of Copenhagen . He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin . From 1978 to 1985 he was a professor at Harvard University , the following year at the Social Science Research Center in Berlin and until 1994 at the European University of Florence . Between 1994 and 2001 he also taught in Trento, Italy . The Danish University of Roskilde awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2001.

Esping-Andersen is also a member of several social science institutes across Europe, such as the Danish Institute for Social Research . He publishes articles in numerous specialist journals around the world, for example in the American Sociological Review or in the European Journal of Industrial Relations (see: Industrial relations ). He is one of the most renowned social researchers of our time. The Dane also worked in international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the OECD . The national governments of Portugal and Belgium sought advice during their European Presidency. The SPD discovered him for their reform debate on the welfare state, namely the former Hamburg mayor and current Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz .

Gøsta Esping-Andersen is currently again professor of sociology at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He lives here with his wife and two adoptive sons from Morocco.

In addition, Esping-Andersen has been an external honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2007 .

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism

The fundamental book The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism by Gøsta Esping-Andersen typifies welfare states.

liberal-anglo-saxon

This type is dominated by market logic and private insurance. Welfare state benefits are low and linked to means tests. A lower wage limit is secured by minimum wages. The US is of this type that meets liberal market economies.

conservative continental European

In this type, in addition to basic security, there are benefits such as pensions or unemployment benefits, work and previous contributions to social security. Conservative is to be understood in the sense of "conserving the standard of living". Social insurance benefits are paid according to the principle of equivalence, i. H. depending on the amount and duration of previously paid contributions. Germany belongs to this type, which is usually associated with sector-coordinated economies.

social democratic-Scandinavian

In this type of work, the character of work as a tradable commodity is largely reduced (decommodified) and compensated for by state-guaranteed wage replacement benefits. This is also known as the universal welfare state. In addition to monetary security, there is a dense network of social services, from active labor market policy to very good childcare. Sweden is of this type. The model of a nationally coordinated economy mostly coincides with this welfare state model.

Publications

  • The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1990)
  • Welfare States in Transition (1996; Ed.)
  • Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies (1998)
  • Why We Need a New Welfare State (2002)
  • The Incomplete Revolution: Adapting to Women's New Roles (2009)

See also

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Esping-Andersen, Gøsta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish political scientist and sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Denmark