Between structure and agency: the use of conditional welfare through the lens of social capital

ABSTRACT

This article assumes that the theory of social capital can contribute to explaining some of the processes behind decision-making independence and the informal aspects of relationship in the implementation of social policies. To support this theoretical proposition by means of case-based empirical evidence, the article focuses on the implementation of the principle of welfare conditionality, which links the access to income support benefits on the acceptance of job search activities and training. Three comparative cases show that its implementation varies significantly in the different contexts: conditionality embodies a very weak principle in Barcelona, which is not applied in practice; in Lyon it has a symbolic function representing a formality that provides access to an unconditional right; in Gothenburg it is implemented as a stringent and effective proof of activation. Among the many institutional and structural factors that help explain these differences, the article shows that there are also specific forms of trust, group identity and mutual recognition that motivate civil servants’ agency and discretionary choices.

KEYWORDS:

• Social capital
• street-level bureaucracy
• income benefit conditionality
• active labour market policies
• welfare states

Acknowledgements

A preliminary version of this article has been selected to be presented at the International Conference in Honour of Alessandro Pizzorno, organised by the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan, in collaboration with Fondazione Feltrinelli, in November 2019. The author would like to thank Marino Regini, Gabriele Ballarino and Luciano Fasano for the discussion and comments received during the conference; Alberta Andreotti for her insightful suggestions made on a later version of the article; the editor and the three anonymous referees for their significant and constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This is a partial representation of SC and the dimensions here identified do not capture the concept in its entirety. Being a multi-dimensional concept, SC cannot be measured directly and no operationalisation can be considered fully comprehensive.

Additional information

Funding

This work has received funding from the European Commission - Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Agreement number: VP/20140546.

Notes on contributors

Gemma Scalise

Gemma Scalise is assistant professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Milan-Bicocca. Her research interests include labour market and welfare regulation, ideas and institutional change, EU multi-level governance. She is the author of 'The Political Economy of Policy Ideas: The European Strategy of Active Inclusion in Context' (Palgrave, 2020).