L1 SOCIAL POLICY ANDTHE

SOCIAL PRODUCTION OF
WELFARE
SOWK 3340Social Policy and Planning
Department of Social Work, CUHK
07 September 2023

Lecturer: Dr. Eric Au Yeung

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LECTURE 1 CONTENTS
Social Policy concern with the production and
distribution
Definition of Social Policy

Different dimensions / focuses on Social Policy

The Political economy of social policy in HK

Social Policy and SocialWork

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 Social policy concerns
with the production and
distribution of
➢ resources, status, power,
…

wealth & etc.

⼀

Social policy, as the rationale underlying the development

and use of social institutions and groups which affect the
distribution of resources, status and power between
individuals and groups in society
(Walker A., 1983)

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All policy decisions involve choices among a range of options

CHOICES ARE
AFFECTED BY
FACTORS SUCH AS:
Value and ideology
Interpretation ofsocial needs /
Explanation of the problem
Social goals
Social outcomes being assessed
Competing choices
Historical development

Case study: (ASP – EC & HTP)

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5
TAKE COVID 19
PANDEMIC ASAN
EXAMPLE FOR
RESOURCE
DISTRIBUTION

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 Hong Kong

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https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality Johns Hopkins 2022
 60%

40%

Source: Department ofHealth,HK SAR Government

Up to 29 Jan 2023: the no. of people died of COVID-19 is 13,120 8
(0.42%) with 3.1M people infected
 Age category of people die of
COVID19
29 Jan 2023
7000 70.5%
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000 16.5%
1000 8.8%
4.2%
0
Age below 60 Age 61 to 69 Age 70 to 79 Age 80 and
above
Deceased

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 Risk of Infection with age

Overall severity of impact on those aged

70 or above, taking into account of
fatality rate is 20.7 times than those
younger under aged 60
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Another critical factor: Correlation between
vaccination & the deceased

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 SOCIAL POLICY
CONCERNS WITH

The productionand The discipline of In social work, we

distribution social policystudies examine whathave
to be changed, and
how we canchange
them!
Resources, wealth, The mechanism
power, Status and and strategies
even lifechances Values and
ideologies (theories)
underpin them
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II. DEFINITIONS OF SOCIAL POLICY

 Policy is …
 2.1 Authoritative decision making
 In an open society, every social problem contains numerous
ideas and opinion – economic logics, social expectations and
political considerations – competing for influences
 Policies cannot be formed unless there are decision makers to
make a final stand to stop conflicting values to grow (温家寶：議
而不決，決而不行)

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II. Definitions of Social Policy

 Policy is …
 2.1 Authoritative decision making
◼ David Easton - politics is the authoritative allocation of values
◼ Unless decisions are made, there cannot be any form of
policy formulation

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II. Definitions of Social Policy

 2.2 Relate to a concept of control

 Develop assumptions about social behaviour and their
impact, e.g. ageing population, youth drug addicts, huge
housing demand

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II. Definitions of Social Policy
 2.2 Relate to a concept of control
◼ Setting rules to control social behaviour, e.g. resource
impact and eligibility, regulating deviations and probable
occurrences, free-riders, etc.

◼ Setting rules to control administrative order, e.g. laws,

administrative law etc.

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 II. Definitions of Social Policy
 2.3 Consistency among policies
◼ Different policy objectives may lead to conflicts or
contradictions
◼ Need linkage, matching, and coordination within
government and public bodies
◼ Therefore, some mega policies need a set of policy
package

Have you observed any social policy inconsistency in HK?

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II. Definitions of Social Policy

 David Gil [1973]

◼ Social policy’s major focal concern is the analysis of
accessing to life-enhancing and life-sustaining resources,
such as welfare, housing and foreign policy.

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David G Gil, Professor of Social Policy, Brandeis University, US
II. Definitions of Social Policy
 Peter Townsend (Sociology & Social Policy1975: 6)
◼ Social policy is best conceived as a kind of blueprint for the
management of society towards social ends
◼ Social policy the institutionalized control of services, agencies
and organizations to maintain or change social structure and
value. Sometimes this control may be utterly conscious … it may
be unspoken and even unrecognized

◼ 社會政策的最佳理解，就是一套社會管理藍本，並以此仍為據達成社會
目標。
◼ 社會政策可被定義為社會組織、機構或團體所行使或主導的理念，這套
理念可能是潛在的，也可能是公開宣示的，目的是維持社會現狀，或促
進改變和發展。
(趙維生、陳錦華、余偉錦，2010：27)
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II. Definitions of Social Policy

 Richard Titmuss [1976: 20]

◼ We are concerned with the study of a range
of social needs and the functioning, in
conditions of scarcity, of human organization,
traditionally called social services or social
welfare systems, to meet those needs.

◼ This complex area of social life lies outside or

the fringes of the so-called free-market, the
mechanisms of prices and tests of profitability.

Titmuss, R. (1970). The Gift Relationship: From Human

Blood to Social Policy, New Press, (reissued with new
chapters 1997, John Ashton & Ann Oakley, LSE Books)
Richard Titmuss (1907~1973), Professor of Social Administration,
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London School of Economics, UK
II. Definitions of Social Policy

 James E. Anderson (2003: 2)

 A policy is defined as a relatively stable,
purposive course of action followed by an actor
or set of actors in dealing with a problem or
matter of concern.

James E. Anderson, Professor of Economic, 24

Boston College, US
II. Definitions of Social Policy

 Paul Wilding (2007: 205)

◼ Social policy can be defined as those actions of

government designed to promote individual and
collective welfare.
◼ Health, housing, education and social security are
normally seen as the heartlands of social policy;
 with social care, environmental and
employment policy seen – rightly or wrongly –
as rather less central.

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 CONCLUSIONS:
SOCIALPOLICY
INVOLVES

GOVERNMENT PURPOSES HOW TOGET DISTRIBUTIONAL

DECISIONSAND AND VALIE THERE IMPACTS
ACTIONS BEHIND THE Outcomes in
Theuseof statepower to DECISIONS the future
bring about change ANDACTIONS
A process of public decision 26
THE ORIGIN OF
SOCIAL POLICY
As a discipline, it has a short history
◼ Developed mainly in capitalist society in the
beginning of 20th century
◼ Mainly to deal with social problems and to
meet socialneeds
◼ Scope initially covered mainly the most basic
poor relief, expanded gradually to cover other
aspects, such as health care and welfare
Baldock, J., Mitton, L., Manning, N. and Vickerstaff, S.
(4 eds) (2012) Social Policy, Oxford: OUP. Chapter 1.

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 III. Different Dimensions / Focuses on Social Policy
T.H. Marshall Concern about social policy and citizenship: The use of social
(1975) policy is to protect citizenship (civil, political & social), not to
undermine them

R. Titmuss Social policy is to meeting people’s social need, out of the

(1976) market domination
Peter Social policy can serve to change or more often, it can serve to
Townsend maintain the status quo, that is social policy is an instrument of
(1976) the capitalist class to preserve the vested interests

Alan Walker ◼ Theseparationof the economicandsocial sectors to allow the market

(1984)
unchecked,andgreedunlimited. Inmost capitalist societies,they work
towards preserving existing interests, reinforce and legitimizes social
inequalities, trickling-down theory doesnot work.
◼ There must beasocialobjective of economicgrowth, otherwise itis
meaningless 28
◼ Mission of social policy is to check and balance to economic sector
IV. POLITICAL ECONOMYOF SOCIALPOLICY
IN HONGKONG
Thesocial policy in HongKong has produced aspecific set of
distributions. On the one hand, there are different measures
implemented for general public and ever-increasing public
expenditure in education, welfare etc. On the other hand…
◼ The increase of poverty rate 1.49M (21.4%) in 2019
◼ Increase of poverty population at 1.65M according to
the pre-intervention poverty figures in 2022 (C&SD 2022)
◼ Increase of working poor
◼ Deterioration of income disparity (Gini coefficient =
0.539 in 2016, 0.518 in 2019)
◼ The polarization of the rich and the poor 29
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In EU,poverty rate is calculatedon the basisof 60%of medianincome
while Hong Kong is based on 50% of MMDHI or below
29.9
30

POVERTY RATE 2019

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1.49M 21.6 21.9 21.9

21.4
20

16.7
16.1
15 15.1
15 14
13.4
12.5

10 8.8
8.2

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 GINI COEFFICIENT IN 2016
0.7
0.63
0.6 0.57
0.54
0.47 0.47 0.48
0.5 0.46
0.39
0.4 0.36
0.32
0.28 0.29
0.3 0.27 0.27

0.2

0.1

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Gini Coefficient By Country 2021
(worldpopulationreview.com)
 Post-tax 2006 2011 2016
household
income

Bottom 10% 1,950 1,940 2,290

2nd 5,720 6,300 7,530
3rd 8,680 9,870 11,690
4th 11,630 13,770 16,150
5th 15,100 18,040 21,210
6th 18,970 22,810 27,450
7th 23,800 28,730 34,950
8th 30,290 36,810 44,830
9th 41,070 50,320 60,760
Top 10% 102,220 120,370 144,850
(52times) (62times) (63.3times) 34
V. SOCIALPOLICYAND SOCIALWORK
❑ Analyse the distributional impacts as well as the
distributive outcome of resources etc.

❑ Critically examine how these impacts and outcomes are

produced
- The embeddedness
- The structure
- The values/ideology
- The politics

❑ Propose alternatives and advocate forchange

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LECTURE 1
TAKE-HOME VALUE
◼ Social Policy concern with the production and distribution
of resources

◼ Definition and different dimensions / focuses of Social Policy

◼ The Political economy of social policy and the case in HK

◼ Social Policy and SocialWork

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 The End

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