Abstract
Purpose - This article provides an overview and analysis of care as a concept and object of policy attention in Europe, mindful especially of the lessons that can be drawn from the European experience. The aim is to set out a framework to understand care and also to offer an account of the way that different parts of Europe have provided for care (of children and older people) and how existing policies are being reformed and rethought. Design/methodology/approach - The article underlines the complexity of care and suggests the need for a broad-ranging approach to its analysis.Findings - It shows that the policy configuration has to be thought of as being embedded in and in many ways a function of the primary location and form of care, the values and culture around care and the nature of the relations involved. While there are many positive lessons from the extent to which European states have become involved in making provision for care – offering financial and other forms of support to families and those needing care and enabling women to pursue a life not defined by their care-related obligations – there are also negative ones such as the need to connect up policies for care across the life spectrum (in the term used in the article: a care configuration) and view care in a global fashion. Originality/value - This article takes an overview of recent developments in Europe and draws out the implications of developments in Asia.
Purpose - This article provides an overview and analysis of care as a concept and object of policy attention in Europe, mindful especially of the lessons that can be drawn from the European experience. The aim is to set out a framework to understand care and also to offer an account of the way that different parts of Europe have provided for care (of children and older people) and how existing policies are being reformed and rethought. Design/methodology/approach - The article underlines the complexity of care and suggests the need for a broad-ranging approach to its analysis.Findings - It shows that the policy configuration has to be thought of as being embedded in and in many ways a function of the primary location and form of care, the values and culture around care and the nature of the relations involved. While there are many positive lessons from the extent to which European states have become involved in making provision for care – offering financial and other forms of support to families and those needing care and enabling women to pursue a life not defined by their care-related obligations – there are also negative ones such as the need to connect up policies for care across the life spectrum (in the term used in the article: a care configuration) and view care in a global fashion. Originality/value - This article takes an overview of recent developments in Europe and draws out the implications of developments in Asia.