TY - JOUR
T1 - Universal welfare by other means? Social tax expenditures and the Australian dual welfare state
AU - Stebbing, Adam
AU - Spies-Butcher, Ben
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - International debates about the comparative institutional structures of welfare states have focused on social expenditure and the inclusiveness of social policy. However, these debates have not accounted for the significant rise of fiscal welfare and, in particular, social tax expenditures (STEs) in our understanding of welfare regimes. The growth of STEs has been particularly significant in Australia. While there has been recognition that STEs contribute to a second tier of welfare provision in some policy domains, there has been no systematic attempt to account for them within the institutional structure of the Australian welfare state. In this article, we chart the rise of STEs, the reasons for their growth in the Australian political economy and conceive of them as forming a second institutional layer of a dual welfare state. We conclude by suggesting that this analysis has broader implications for other, particularly liberal, welfare regimes.
AB - International debates about the comparative institutional structures of welfare states have focused on social expenditure and the inclusiveness of social policy. However, these debates have not accounted for the significant rise of fiscal welfare and, in particular, social tax expenditures (STEs) in our understanding of welfare regimes. The growth of STEs has been particularly significant in Australia. While there has been recognition that STEs contribute to a second tier of welfare provision in some policy domains, there has been no systematic attempt to account for them within the institutional structure of the Australian welfare state. In this article, we chart the rise of STEs, the reasons for their growth in the Australian political economy and conceive of them as forming a second institutional layer of a dual welfare state. We conclude by suggesting that this analysis has broader implications for other, particularly liberal, welfare regimes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650415020&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0047279410000267
DO - 10.1017/S0047279410000267
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78650415020
SN - 0047-2794
VL - 39
SP - 585
EP - 606
JO - Journal of Social Policy
JF - Journal of Social Policy
IS - 4
ER -