“Institutional Imprints of Social Disparity”: Introducing a Novel Conceptual Framework for the Development of New Institutional Indicators on Social Inequality

Welfare states are complex and provide different, even conflicting, answers to the questions of ‘who gets what and why?’ and ‘who should get what and why?’ This study will go beyond classical distinctions proposed by welfare state typologies and study differences in the various spheres of welfare, most importantly, old age security, healthcare, unemployment, and minimum protection. It proposes that ideas about inequality and the distribution of resources are imprinted in the institutional setting of social security systems. A starting point are current debates on path-dependency and policy feedback, as these suggest the institutional settings of welfare systems may structure and legitimate inequality through their impact on access to services and the ways they support or disrupt attribution of responsibility for personal outcomes. Less recognized but central for the study of inequality are the welfare privileges institutions grant to specific groups, as these manifest societal divisions. I propose these distinctions are evident in the legal foundations of the institutional setting of social security systems. Building on these assumptions, this study will introduce a novel conceptual framework for the measurement for “institutional imprints of social inequality” across policy fields, countries and time. First empirical examples of quantitative indicators based on legal information will be provided.