Social Assistance in Sweden, France and the United States

Abstract

이 연구는 최근 우리 사회보장정책에서 중요한 정책현안이자 쟁점으로 부각된 공공부조제도 개편방안에 대한 연구의 일환으로 기획되었다. 세계화와 탈산업화 그리고 인구고령화라는 시대적 환경변화 속에서 각국이 공공부조제도를 어떻게 개편하고 있으며, 이를 통해 우리 공공부조제도가 어떠한 방향에서 개편방안을 모색해야 하는지 시사점을 찾고자 하였다. 뿐만 아니라 다년간의 기획연구로 연도별 분석대상 국가를 선정하였고, 분석내용은 국가별 비교가 가능하도록 공통의 주제를 중심으로 기술하고 있다. 또한 이 연구는 학술연구를 위한 기초자료를 제공한다는 의미를 갖고 있고 있다.

The study represents the second year of the research project A Comparative Study on Social Assistance that started in 2014. The project, in its first year, looked into social assistance systems and welfare reforms in the UK and Japan. The present study selected three countries―Sweden, France, and the US―for comparison of social assistance systems. The aim of this study is to examine how social assistance systems works in other countries and to develop a social assistance reform model for Korea. Finally, the research would help build a baseline data of recent social assistance reforms of various counties. This study proposes an in-depth analytical framework of international comparison of social assistance systems. The framework is utilized for analysing the six focus areas which are related to public assistance. This study focuses on the following six topics: 1. Historical background of social assistance 2. Basic structure and feature of social assistance 3. Eligibility and benefit payment of each social assistance program 4. Recent trend of policy reforms(including Relations with Employment and Social Supports) 5. Administration and delivery of social assistance. 6. Policy Implications in Korean Social Welfare System

Social Assistance in Sweden: current situation and issue

Universal social policy is more advanced in Sweden than in any other country. Sweden has a national health service system, a free education system(including higher education), and well-developed housing support programs. Its nation pension, including guarantee pension, supports old age, and family allowance is provided for families with children. Social assistance is a kind of last-resort support in Sweden. Most social assistance recipients are the people suffering from complex social problems. Social assistance based on ‘Social Service Act’ is under Kommun(local government) and is well combined with social service. Social assistance called ‘Ekonomiskt bistand’ consists of basic consumption for every household, consumption for individual needs and additional cost for special needs. Frontline social workers decide the amount benefits for every household after assessing their conditions. Youth and immigrants make up a considerable percentage in the social assistance recipients.