Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes a conceptualisation of universalism in social policy that is generally applicable for developing countries, beyond northern ideal types. As an umbrella term, it reflects guiding principles along three dimensions: provisioning modalities; costing and pricing; and financing.

Paper long abstract:

This paper proposes a way of conceptualizing universalism in social policy in a manner that bears more general applicability beyond ideal type northern welfare states, and that clarifies much of the conceptual confusion surrounding the term, particularly with respect to its application to developing countries or development goals. Universalism in this sense needs to be understood as an umbrella term reflecting a set of guiding principles along three dimensions: provisioning modalities, which includes issues of access and coverage; costing and pricing, which relate to commodification, although here understood differently from the way Esping-Anderson and the subsequent welfare state literature have (arguably wrongly) conceived commoditification; and financing, which involves the principle of (social) insurance. Within each dimension, we can think in terms of a spectrum from strong to weak (or absent) universalistic principles underpinning various institutional systems of social provisioning. This approach is useful because it takes us away from the dichotomy of targeting versus universalism and towards a more policy relevant method of identifying shifts towards stronger or weaker universalistic principles within historically and structurally specific and institutionally contingent contexts. It also assists in the analysis of the potentially equalizing effects (or not) of movements towards greater universalism, as well as the political economy factors that hinder or promote such movements along various disaggregated aspects of social policy.