NEWS

The Sustainable Welfare & Eco-social Policy Network will host a special session at the upcoming 8th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics and 11th International Degrowth Conference in Oslo, 24 – 27 June 2025 .

Special session 168: Sustainable Welfare & Eco-Social Policy

    Organizer(s): Dr. Katharina Bohnenberger (German Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Policy Research, University of Bremen; Institute for Socio-Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany); Dr. Tuuli Hirvilammi (University of Tampere).
    Related tracks: 2.1 – Welfare states, fiscal policy, and taxation; 4.1 – Social-ecological provisioning systems.
    Keywords: welfare states, provisioning systems, eco-social policy, social security, social risks.
    Expected abstract format: Conventional.

Description

Meeting human needs within planetary boundaries requires integrated and transformative approaches to social security and welfare systems. The social impacts of ecological crises establish new social risks and require an adaptation and recalibration of welfare systems. At the same time, welfare states face structural societal changes to meet environmental goals and foster sustainable societies. The role of social policy making and the development of the welfare states in this ecological transformation is increasingly researched and forms a new research field.

With this stream we would like give space to present and discuss interdisciplinary research on sustainable welfare and eco-social policy. We invite theoretical, qualitative and quantitative research on cross-national case studies and comparative research as well as in-depth research focusing on single countries and solution-oriented policy proposal. The presented research might cover but is not limited to the following topics:

• Proposal, design and implementation of new eco-social instruments.
• Evaluation of social/environmental policies in terms of their impact in the other field.
•  Ecological perspectives on pensions, long-term care, childcare, etc.
• Varieties of welfare states and eco-states and their provisioning systems.
•  Generational conflicts and gender perspectives as concerns eco-social risks and socio-ecological transformation.
• Change in welfare institutions through the green transition, also at the local or EU level.
•  Transformational requirements in moving towards a growth-independent welfare state and post-growth solutions.
• Research on the ecological footprint of social security systems or social and tax policies.

The aim of the planned session is to provide a space for newcomers and established researchers in the field to present novel research, including research on topics that extend beyond more specialized closed sessions at the conference. The session will contribute to new knowledge on the role of welfare systems in buildings socially just post-growth futures, considering both theoretical perspectives of the welfare state and actions that can be undertaken by organisations and civil society in the field of social policy.