Social Security as a Public Interest

A Multidisciplinary Inquiry into the Foundations of the Regulatory Welfare State
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-94-000-0110-7
Verlag: Intersentia Publishers

Buch, Englisch, 230 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 454 g

Reihe: Social Europe Series

Our social security systems face many challenges. Economic crises, the ageing of the population and changing employment patterns call for a reorientation of policies. In the last few decades the introduction of private elements has often been advocated as a way forward. This privatisation gives rise to new questions. What are the public interests that call for government responsibility? What can be regarded as the public interest in our social security systems? What are the mechanisms that safeguard these interests and what is the role of public and private regulation? This multidisciplinary study approaches these questions from the point of view of economics, public administration, law and philosophy. The major conclusion is that a strict public-private distinction is a dead end. It is important that we gain more understanding of mixed public-private governance structures. This requires, first of all, further research into the normative and theoretical foundations of ‘social markets’.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Vonk, Gijsbert

Tollenaar, Albertjan

Über Autor(innen)

Vonk, Gijsbert
Gijsbert Vonk studied law in Amsterdam and London, before receiving a PhD for his research in the field of European social law at the University of Tilburg (1990). After having been head of the department for legal affairs at the Social Insurance Bank in Amstelveen from 1993 to 2006, he became professor of social security law in Groningen. Furthermore, since 1990 he has been holding a part-time chair for Social Security Law at the Faculty of Law of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Gijsbert Vonk’s fields of interest are (international) social security law, public law, European law and human rights law. His present research interests lie in the flield of poverty and homelessness and the rise of the repressive welfare state.