Title

The marketisation of care: rationales and consequences in Nordic and liberal care regimes

Authors

Deborah Brennan, University of New South WalesFollow
Bettina Cass, University of New South WalesFollow
Susan Himmelweit, Open University, UK
Marta Szebehely, Stockholm University

Document Type

Article

Publication details

Brennan, D, Cass, B, Himmelweit, S & Szebehely, M 2012, 'The marketisation of care: rationales and consequences in Nordic and liberal care regimes', Journal of European Social Policy, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 377-391.

Published version available from:

http://doi.org/10.1177/0958928712449772

Peer Reviewed

Peer-Reviewed

Abstract

The use of markets and market mechanisms to deliver care services is growing in both liberal and social democratic welfare states. This article examines debates and policies concerning the marketisation of eldercare and childcare in Sweden, England and Australia. It shows how market discourses and practices intersect with, reinforce or challenge traditions and existing policies and examines whether care markets deliver user empowerment and greater efficiency. Markets for eldercare and childcare have developed in uneven and context specific ways with varying consequences. Both politics and policy history help to shape market outcomes.