Understanding the Inflation and Social Policy Nexus

The cost-of-living crisis that began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the attempted Russian invasion of Ukraine has major implications for social policy. In advanced industrial countries, this is the most dramatic cost-of-living crisis since the mid-late 1970s and early 1980s. In this con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial policy and society : a journal of the Social Policy Association Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 149 - 162
Main Authors Béland, Daniel, Cantillon, Bea, Greve, Bent, Hick, Rod, Moreira, Amilcar
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.01.2024
Subjects
Themed Section on Social Policy Responses to the Cost-of-Living-Crisis
COVID-19
social policy
welfare state
crisis
inflation
cost-of-living
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Summary:The cost-of-living crisis that began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the attempted Russian invasion of Ukraine has major implications for social policy. In advanced industrial countries, this is the most dramatic cost-of-living crisis since the mid-late 1970s and early 1980s. In this contribution, we explore the inflation and social policy nexus to identify the nature and sources of inflation, its redistributive and policy implications, and the specific nature of the current cost-of-living crisis compared to two other recent crises: the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on advanced industrial countries and drawing on the available scholarship about these topics, we offer the background necessary to understand the challenges facing welfare states in times of dramatically high inflation. As a way to provide broad context to the present themed section, our discussion stresses the economic, social, and political dynamics shaping social policy adaptation to inflationary pressures.
ISSN:1474-7464
1475-3073
DOI:10.1017/S1474746423000349