Social Policy, Poverty, and Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Agency and Institutions in Flux

by Paul Stubbs (Editor), Sofiya An (Editor), Tatiana Chubarova (Editor), Bob Deacon (Editor), Natalija Atas (Editor)

Overview

This book takes stock of the diverse and divergent welfare trajectories of postsocialist countries across central, eastern, and southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It traces the impacts in terms of poverty, well-being, and inequality of over two decades of transformation, addressing both the legacy effects of socialist welfare systems and the installation of new social, political, and economic structures and, in many cases, new independent nation-states. Authors from different disciplines address key aspects of social protection including health care, poverty reduction measures, active labor market policies, pension systems, and child welfare systems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783838213088
Publisher:	ibidem Press
Publication date:	09/30/2019
Series:	CROP International Poverty Studies
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sofiya An is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nazarbayev University (Astana, Kazakhstan). She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University in New York City (2002) and a PhD from the University of Toronto (2014). Her research interests lie at the intersection of post-Soviet social policy and global, or transnational, social policy. In her current research, she examines post-Soviet changes in welfare institutions, the Soviet legacies, and the agency of state and non-state domestic and global policy actors. She is a member of the European Social Work Research Association and co-convenor of the Special Interest Group on Post-Soviet and Post-Socialist Social Work.

Tatiana Chubarova holds PhD (Social Policy, LSE) and Doctor of Sciences (Economy, Russian Academy of Sciences) degrees and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. Her professional interests include health and social policy in Russia in a comparative perspective; health care financing and administration; gender issues. Currently she is interested in studying the role of the modern state in social welfare provision, specifically instruments used by governments to cover population health needs. Dr. Chubarova contributed to a number of books such as Health Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe: Options, Obstacles, Limited Outcomes (ed. by J. Nemec and J. Bjorkman. Eleven Publ., Hague 2014); Implementation of New Public Management Tools: Experience from Transition and Emerging Countries (ed. by J. Nemec, M. S. de Vries. Bruylant, Bruxelles 2015); Comparative Health Care Federalism (ed. by K. Fierlbeck, H. A. Palley, Ashgate. 2015). She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the New Economic Association and Mir Peremen (both in Russian).

Bob Deacon (28 May 1944–1 October 2017) was Honorary Professor in Global Social Policy at the University of York, UK, and Emeritus Professor of International Social Policy, University of Sheffield, UK. Over a fifty-year academic career, Bob was a key figure in radical social policy, the social policy of socialism and post-socialism, and, latterly, in global and regional social policy. In addition to his three key books on the topic: Global Social Policy (with Michelle Hulse and Paul Stubbs, Sage, 1997), Global Social Policy and Governance (Sage, 2007), and Global Social Policy in the Making (Policy Press, 2013), Bob maintained a commitment to advancing progressive social policy through establishing links between academic, advocacy, and policy-making fields.

Paul Stubbs is a UK-born sociologist who is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia. His main research interests focus on civil society and social movements, social policy, and policy translation. He is currently undertaking research on historical aspects of Yugoslav socialism and the Non-Aligned Movement. His recent publications include Making Policy Move (with John Clarke, Dave Bainton, and Noémi Lendvai, Policy Press), Transformations in Global and Regional Social Policies (edited with Alexandra Kaasch, Palgrave Macmillan) and Social Inequalities and Discontent in Yugoslav Socialism (co-edited with Rory Archer and Igor Duda, Routledge). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Critical Policy Studies and the Croatian Journal of Social Policy.

Table of Contents

Preface Sofiya An Tatiana Chubarova Bob Deacon Paul Stubbs 7

Part 1 Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Poverty, Inequality and Well-Being in the Global East: Bringing the 'Social' Back in Paul Stubbs Sofiya An Tatiana Chubarova 11

Part 2 Poverty and Inequality: From Theory to Everyday Life 45

Chapter 2 Poverty Reduction through Social Protection and Labor Policies in the Former Soviet Union Esuna Dugarova 47

Chapter 3 Equality and Inequality in Social Scientific Studies in Russia, 2000 - 2015 Natalia Grigorieva 67

Chapter 4 Inequality of Access to the Health System in Russia: The Case of Out-of-Pocket Payments Tatiana Chubarova 87

Chapter 5 The Hidden Reality of Day-to-Day Struggles of the Working Poor in Lithuania Natalija Atas 105

Part 3 Policy Actors and Institutional Change 123

Chapter 6 IGOs' Strategic Frameworks and Poverty Alleviation in Macedonia Maja Gerovska Mitev 125

Chapter 7 Between Modern Design and Old Political Habits: The Kosovar Pension System under Threat Igor Guardiancich 147

Chapter 8 The Transformation of Child Welfare Institutions in Kazakhstan: Layering, Hybridization and Multiple Institutional Logics Sofiya An 169

Chapter 9 The Impact of Women's Agency against Poverty in Russia Ann-Mari Sätre 189

Part 4 Welfare Trajectories and Assemblages 207

Chapter 10 The Politics of Pension Reforms in Kazakhstan: Pressures for Change and Reform Strategies Elena Maltseva Saltanat Janenova 209

Chapter 11 Diverse Health Care Developments in the Post-Soviet Space: The Role of National and International Actors Gulnaz Isabekova 237

Chapter 12 Diversified Convergence: Uneven Welfare Trajectories in Central and Eastern Europe Noémi Lendvai-Bainton 263

Chapter 13 Reforming Welfare Assemblages in Semi-Peripheral Spaces: Understanding 'Drivers of Inertia' in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia Paul Stubbs Sinisa Zrinšcak 285

Contributor Biographies 307