Crisis and welfare state in child care: conceptual reflections from a comparative study of Spain and Norway

Abstract

This article is a reflection about the consequences and influence of the current financial crisis on work-life balance policies in Spain and Norway. A comparative approach between these two countries is used to examine the modifications in regards to the care of children under the age of three. Hence, we analyze the public policies and the resources used by the families to observe the evolution of the Welfare State in these countries. The issue of the care of children under three years is the core idea from which we consider the current applicability of different traditional theoretical models of Welfare State. In the Spanish case, care of children under three has undergone major changes in recent decades, thus allowing a new relationship among social agents. The state has modified its participation, although the economic crisis has reduced and even reversed this trend. Simultaneously, Norway in spite of the stability and consensus regarding family policies, has introduced certain privatization tendencies, modifying the traditional delegation of care in the State. Therefore, this paper considers the usefulness of new theoretical frameworks, such as the one proposed by Sigrid Leitner, to analyze the care mechanism developed by two different systems of Welfare State, examining the evolution and intention of both countries in regards to the care of children under the age of three and, in particular, the effects of the current economic crisis on those policies and resource