Is There Room for Targeting within Universalism? Finnish Social Assistance Recipients as Social Citizens

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of means-tested social assistance in Finland, which is often considered one of the Nordic welfare states described as having a universal welfare model. The article scrutinises the capacity of the final safety net to enhance the social citizenship of social assistance recipients. The Finnish social security system combines social insurance (earnings-related benefits), universal benefits (flat-rate benefits), free or affordable public services, and social assistance as a means-tested and targeted element, and thus it is a discussion on the degree of universalism that best captures the nature of universalism in the Finnish welfare state. Because the final safety net includes public services (especially social work) and income transfers (especially social assistance), its ability to strengthen social citizenship depends on both elements—separately and as a combination—as there may be a simultaneous need for financial aid and services. Whilst national registers provide data on social assistance, there is no national register data on municipal social services, which is why a survey was conducted. In this study, the heterogenic clients supported by the final safety net were described based on an open-ended question in the survey data. Statistics were then used to evaluate the frequency of client groups (capable clients, persistent clients, invisible clients, safety net dropouts). The article concludes that universalism as a social policy principle is challenged by the diversity of the clientele.

Reconciling welfare policy and sustainability transition – A case study of the Finnish welfare state

“…In all Nordic countries, social security systems also feature a last-resort safety net (social assistance), and it practically defines the minimum standards of living. The last-resort safety net includes means-tested financial aid and essential services that aim to guarantee basic human rights for individuals who reside in the country (Saikkonen & Ylikännö, 2020).…”

Smaller net or just fewer to catch? Disentangling the causes for the varying sizes of minimum income schemes

“…The obligation to seek work actively and accept work and training (the work test), has traditionally been a dominant feature of social assistance schemes in central European countries. Even in Nordic countries, where poverty was traditionally viewed as a structural problem, social assistance schemes nowadays include elements of activation, thus shifting the responsibility to the individual (Kuivalainen & Nelson, 2012; Saikkonen & Ylikännö, 2020).…”

Universalism in Social Policies: A Multidimensional Concept, Policy Idea or Process

“…However, as is the case for other social policy concepts, the term universalism is popular in the international debate because it is used in a diffuse way and therefore adaptable to diverse policy goals (Palier, 2008; in this issue see also Leisering, 2020). Sometimes, universalism refers to a key normative idea behind specific national welfare systems, e.g., in what is discussed as Nordic welfare states (Goul Andersen, 2012;Stefánsson, 2012; in this issue see also Blomqvist & Palme, 2020;Mehrara, 2020;Saikkonen & Ylikänno, 2020). However, the term universalism was only used quite late (in the 1980s) to describe Nordic welfare states that were much older (Stefánsson, 2012).…”