Provision of public and social services in European countries. Any lessons to learn for the Asia-Pacific region?

ABSTRACT

In European countries, the provision of public and personal social services has historically gone through profound shifts between the public/municipal, private and societal sectors. Covering a broad selection of European countries, this article explores the institutional development of service provision and the factors impinging on it. In pursuing a developmental approach, different historical stages are distinguished and explored (pre-welfare state, advanced welfare state, neo-liberal policy period and recent fiscal austerity phase). The analysis is guided by the question whether this development has shown convergence or divergence between phases, countries and service sectors. In conclusion, the question is raised whether, from the point of view of Asia-Pacific countries, lessons could be drawn from the European experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Public service provision
• marketization
• social service provision
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hellmut Wollmann

Hellmut Wollmann is an emeritus professor of public policy and administration at the Institute of Social Science of Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. His academic work and publications (in many languages) have included comparative government, policy and administration, with a focus on subnational/local level, and policy evaluation.