The Dilemma of Municipalities
Scandinavian Approaches to Child Day-care Provision
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2116622 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Teppo Kröger (0000-0001-5019-6230, Tampere University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 485-507 |
| Publication date | 1997-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Social Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2794 • E-ISSN: 1469-7823 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0047279497005126 |
| OpenAlex | W2087930553 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 18 |
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
Autonomy · Central government · Contradiction · Decentralization · Dilemma · Discretion · Economic growth · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Local government · Political science · Politics · Social Welfare · State (computer science) · Welfare · Welfare state · Law · Public Administration · Research in Social Sciences · Social Policy and Reform Studies
A Caring State for all Older People?
Governance of early childhood education and care
How Welfare States Care
Paid to Care
Needs and Ambitions in Swedish Disability Care
Women at risk
Working parents with young children
Misplaced optimism or a missed opportunity? Child welfare policies of a latecomer country, Finland 1918–36
Rescaling social care services
The Local and the National in Community Care
Central versus Local Service Regulation
Expectations towards home care re-ablement in Danish municipalities
Universalism and the local organisation of elderly care
Retuning the Nordic welfare municipality
Party Platforms and Public Childcare
The Politics of Mothers' Employment
Local Autonomy, Local Democracy and the ‘New Localism
Who benefits? The social distribution of subsidized childcare in Sweden and Flanders
| Unique citing works | 18 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,78 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2025 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |