Danish social policies have a gender neutral approach, combined with an aim of autonomy for individuals and a system of universal social policies. This approach has moved Denmark away from the use of moral regulation of single mothers and a strong male income earner model in social policy. It has highlighted men's roles as fathers, as well as women's roles as workers and has therefore a lot of advantages. Problems do occur though when the obligation to work or to be a parent in reality differs for men and for women; this becomes clear when we focus on single parents.

Using a form of discourse analysis of various government texts, this article examines the way in which central government in Scotland formulated its response to the problem of ‘glue-sniffing’. Drawing on a theoretical framework developed by Foucault, it traces the links between professional knowledge, political programmes and parents' desires. It describes the discursive manoeuvres government deployed in constituting parents as primarily responsible for their children's sniffing. It suggests that in doing this government sought to align its own political objectives with the aspirations of parents, by purporting to preserve their freedom and autonomy. It concludes that ‘expertise’ is used selectively, both in legitimating and producing policy, and in linking this to subjective life.

This article examines three comparative perspectives on East Asian welfare systems with special reference to Japan and Korea. First, an expenditure approach shows that the levels of government spending in Japan and Korea are lower than in UK and Sweden, but it necessarily underestimates the welfare expenditure publicly spent in Japan and Korea, due to the regulator type of policy intervention in financing welfare programmes. Second, the standard analysis of cross-sectional redistribution shows that social and fiscal policies have made only a small impact on income distribution, but the profiles of policy intervention reveal the distinctive characteristics of social security systems in these two countries. Lastly, this article examines the welfare systems in Japan and Korea in the light of Esping-Andersen's conservative welfare regime type. It argues that the welfare systems in these two countries do not fit into the type of the conservative welfare state and suggests that there is a case for an ‘East Asian welfare model’, at least regarding Japan and Korea.

The article discusses the role of Scandinavian local governments in providing welfare state services. Wide-ranging social care services are probably the most distinctive feature of the Scandinavian welfare societies. These services, in the main, have been financed publicly and provided by local government. The traditional principle of Scandinavian local self-government, requiring local autonomy, and the goal of a welfare state providing a uniformly equal service to all is, however, a contradiction in terms. How have the Scandinavian countries dealt with this dilemma? This question is discussed by an examination of the day-care service policies in the four Scandinavian countries. Two distinct Scandinavian policy-models seem to emerge, one that primarily respects the local discretion of municipalities and the other that favours a more centralised approach. Norway represents the local autonomy model, Sweden and Finland exemplify the centrally directed model, while Denmark displays features from both models. During the 1990s, the main responsibility for social services has been decentralized also in Sweden and Finland. At the same time, Scandinavian local government action has turned to a more liberal direction.

Contents

1 Social security and income maintenance

2 Health care

3 Education

4 Housing and environment

5 Personal social services

6 Law and the treatment of the offender

7 Unemployment and the labour market

8 Race relations

9 The voluntary sector

10 Local government

11 Gender

12 Demography

A. Figueroa, T. Altamirano and D. Sulmont, Social Exclusion and Inequality in Peru, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 104, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 96 pp., 17.50 Swiss francs.

M. H. Hashem, Goals for Social Integration and Realities of Social Exclusion in the Republic of Yemen, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 105, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 116 pp., 20 Swiss francs.

P. Appasamay, S. Guhan, R. Hema, M. Majumdar and A. Vaidyanathan, Social Exclusion from a Welfare Rights Perspective in India, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 106, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 133 pp., 22.50 Swiss francs.

P. Phongpaichit, S. Piriyarangsanan, and N. Treerat, Challenging Social Exclusion: Rights and Livelihood in Thailand, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 107, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 122 pp., 20 Swiss francs.

N. Tchernina, Economic Transition and Social Exclusion in Russia, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 108, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 103 pp., 17.50 Swiss francs.

F. Kaijage and A. Tibaijuka, Poverty and Social Exclusion in Tanzania, International Institute for Labour Studies Research Series, No. 109, ILO, Geneva, 1996, 202 pp., 25 Swiss francs.

(All published for the International Institute for Labour Studies/United Nations Development Programme by the International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.)

These volumes were commissioned as part of an International Labour Organisation/UN Development Programme research series to explore the relevance and the value of the notion of social exclusion in a global context.