Social Policies and Public Action

Lavinia Bifulco is Professor of Sociology at the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy.

‘Lavinia Bifulco presents a rich and subtle analysis of the changing fortunes of the social dimensions of Europe. She combines attention to the complex trajectories of social welfare, in their variations across place and time, with a clear grasp of the forces that have been subordinating the social to the economic.’ - John Clarke, The Open University, UK

• Introduction: Social policies and public action: What is the ‘social’?Public actionDimensions of analysis What is the ‘social’ in social policies?The structurePart I: The framework1. Concepts and issuesThe ideasThe institutionsAgency and capabilities2. What is social in Europe? A common heritageThe European social modelFacing the crisis Part II: Public action and social policies: Dynamics3. The Changing ArchitectureA scenarioInstitutional changes: New public management and governanceTerritorializationProblems and opportunities in changing public action4. The social investmentCommon but not shared perspectivesIndividualizationWhat sort of agency? Problems What sort of agency? OpportunitiesConclusions5. ParticipationThe contextA few distinctionsDimensions, questions, factorsVoice and capacity to aspireConclusions6. Public-PrivateContractualizationSocial marketPublicPublic administrationConclusionsPart III: Public action and social policies: a changing social domain7. Young school-to-work transitionsProblems and solutions The informational bases of justice: MeritBeyond employability: The Workable researchYoung people’s transitions and capacitations Conclusions8. Care and choice: The position of the recipientsFreedom of choice and its instrumentsInstruments in actionConclusions9. Inclusion and the cityThe agenda of the inclusive city in EuropeDiversity, participation, social innovationPart IV: Conclusions10. Back to the ‘social’? Individualization Between market and the self-organized communityDepoliticization Possibilities of the ‘social’ReferencesIndex