Welfare State Classification: The Development of Central Eastern European Welfare
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| 6.6 Conclusions The preceding paragraphs have given an overview of the developments which have taken place in the period after the collapse of the Berlin Wall with a focus on the period between 1995 and 2005. Overall in the Slovak Republic most major reforms have taken place in the period 2002-2004; the pension-system, labour-market policies and the health-care system have significantly been reformed within this period. The analysis of the developments of certain aspects of the Slovak welfare state has led to a conclusion which is line with the literature which argues in favor of convergence of welfare states; the Slovak welfare state has developed towards a hybrid system which combines elements of all three welfare types defined by Esping-Andersen. The pension system has been reformed in 2003- 2004 to a two pillar scheme which includes both a pay-as-you-go system and privately managed pension funds. This system shows many similarities with conservative-corporatist pension systems. However, because the Slovak constitution includes a law that guarantees pensioners a minimum income parts of the pension system can be considered to fit into the social-democratic welfare type. When looking at the developments of family benefits and family policies, one can conclude that this aspect of the welfare state has developed towards a system with means-tested income based benefits. Only child allowances are not income-tested; most other allowances and benefits are thus means-tested. The health-system of the Slovak Republic has developed towards a system which combines elements of both liberal and social-democratic welfare types; also socialist benefits are still present. First of all, coverage is universal and the covered services are extensive, this is the result of communist legacies. At the same time one can see a shift towards privatization and decentralization, but state control is still vast. The labour-market and unemployment policies have developed towards a liberal welfare system; the protection of workers has decreased in order to stimulate the economy. At the same time many incentives have been created to stimulate the unemployed workers to search for a new job. These incentives include a reduction of unemployment benefits; the benefits were high relative to lower incomes and discouraged unemployed people with lower incomes to look for a job. These developments can be considered to fit into the liberal welfare type. International organizations and institutions have had a vast influence on the development of the Slovakian welfare state within the period between 1995 and 2005. However, one must conclude that in Poland the influence of organizations as the World Bank and the WHO were present more obviously. The European Union has had a significant influence on the development of Slovakia in general; the overall reform context is was based on compliance with European norms which focuses on a welfare system which ensures economic growth, stability and prosperity. At the same time reports by the OECD and the World Health Organization have also been taken into account during the development of new social policy. For example, an OECD country review contributed to the reduction of unemployment benefits in order to stimulate people to seek for jobs. WHO officials have also been advising the Slovak government about the health-care system. In line with the developments in Poland, one can see a hybrid welfare state which combines elements of all welfare types and systems. The organization of today’s welfare state is the result of both the communist legacy and influence of international organizations. In other words, one can observe both policy diffusion and path-dependence. 41 |