Transformación del Estado de bienestar e inversión social

Abstract

During the seventies, the economic crisis has questioned the relevancy of the Keynesian policies of reactivation and, in front of an increasing unemployment, the model of Welfare state created in 1945 has been widely criticized by the neoclassic economists who defends a policy of offer that suppose a reduction of the wage costs and social incomes. But, the balance of the neoliberal policies is disappointing at the socioeconomic level because, besides not guaranteeing a notable and constant growth, it has extended the social inequalities. If the traditional systems of protection are not adapted to the economic and social current context, a new approach of the social policies appears from the beginning of the 2000s that insists on the reorientation of the Welfare states. This paradigm defends the idea according to which it is necessary to conceive the social, educational and sanitary policies not as an expense but as an investment that is fundamental for the economic competitiveness, the social cohesion and the civil well-being. The strategy of social investment defines new priorities for the Welfare State to help the individuals along their vital paths