Social Exclusion of Family Carers in Different Welfare State Regimes. A Comparison between Germany and Sweden (PDF)

Scientific Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - Political Systems - General and Comparisons, , language: English, abstract: The general framework of informal care differs significantly between Germany and Sweden. The
present paper analyses these differences and their impact on family carers situation based on the
multidimensional concept of social exclusion.
Elder care in Germany is provided within the framework of a Bismarkian, conservative corporatist
welfare state. The design of the German supplemental care benefits results in familialism, particularly
for carers of lower socio economic classes. Its strong male bread winner model and strong traditional
gender role expectations constitute a high risk of marginalisation for women.
The swedish welfare system is considered to be social democratic. De-familializing strategies,
comparatively weak traditional gender role expectations, a weak male breadwinner model and
comprehensive public care provision minimizes the risk of marginalisation for carers.
The results of recent European surveys support the hypothesis of a lower risk of marginalisation for
carers in Sweden: Swedish carers face a far lower risk of exclusion from the labour market, a lower
risk of financial marginalisation, are less likely affected by health impairments and face a lower risk of
social isolation compared to German carers.