Constructing Inequality: Deserving and Undeserving Clients in Austrian Social Assistance Offices

Abstract

The social constructions formed of target groups, which are used to justify the allotment of benefits and obligations, are now being discussed in organisations at street level. Using qualitative interview data from eight municipalities, the article examines how the local social construction of deservingness constrains frontline work. In comparing everyday practices for checking eligibility and altering a recipient's behaviour, the study found four distinctive administrative practices. Standardised administrations represent their clients as deserving, and engage with the recipients in a service-oriented way. Semi-standardised administrations aim at rightful payment, but construct deserving and undeserving groups, subjecting the latter to behavioural change. Disciplining administrations create all clients as undeserving and emphasise control. Poor relief administrations withhold social rights for the undeserving and provide paternalistic support for the deserving. Local conceptions of (un)deservingness severely affect social citizenship and are thus crucial to understanding and detecting the impact of social policy reform.

Barriers to the Equal Treatment of (aspirant) Citizens: The Case of the Application of Nationality Law in Belgium

“…The main source of variation, however, was the decentralized procedure itself (cf. Altreiter and Leibetseder, ). Other than the few exceptions mentioned above, most local registers conformed to the interpretation of the local parquet , while each parquet in turn tried to take decisions by anticipating and following the interpretation of the local judge presiding over nationality cases.…”

“…Some of the causes I identify in this article as sources of unequal application of the law, workload and decentralization, are well‐known in the implementation literature (e.g. Lipsky, ; Altreiter and Leibetseder, ), but they have been more rarely examined in the study of citizenship policy. I argue that the Belgian nationality policy is particularly interesting because it shows the relevance of these factors even in highly codified procedures.…”

The ‘activation turn’ and the new horizontal division of labour at the local level: the case of social assistance services in Austria, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland

“…The case studies addressed in this chapter -Graz (Austria), Antwerp (Belgium), Berne (Switzerland) and Oslo (Norway) -were assessed on the basis of national policy documents and earlier empirical investigations conducted by the authors in their respective cases (Altreiter and Leibetseder, 2015;CAP Gubrium, 2013;CAP Gubrium and Øverbye, 2012;Raeymaeckers and Dierckx, 2013;CAP Raeymaeckers and Dierckx, 2012;CAP Leibetseder, 2016;CAP Hauri et al, 2012). In a comparative perspective, our four case studies are relatively homogeneous (Yin, 2013).…”

Soziologie in Österreich – Internationale Verflechtungen

“…Analysiert man die Zuerkennung einer Leistung und die gestellten Bedingungen, die eine Verhaltensveränderung bei den Betroffenen erreichen sollen, lassen sich differenzierte Selbstverständnisse der Verwaltungen auf lokaler Ebene feststellen. (Halb-)Standardisierte, disziplinierende und von den Prinzipien der Armenfürsorge geleitete Verwaltungen etablieren demzufolge eine jeweils andere soziale Realität im Amt -für Sachbearbeiter/innen wie "User/innen" (Altreiter und Leibetseder 2015).…”

“…Zuletzt gibt es den Typus der Armenfürsorge, die stark paternalistisch Antragsteller/innen und Bezieher/innen in "würdige" und "unwürdige" unterteilt. Für "unwürdig" Klassifizierte ist es grundsätzlich schwierig, einen Zugang zu einer Leistung zu bekommen, wohingegen "würdige" Kategorisierte über den Rechtsanspruch hinaus Leistungen erhalten (Altreiter und Leibetseder 2015).…”