Sigtuna, 10 – 12 June 2013
As with previous seminars, the 2013 seminar will provide a forum for researchers and policy makers to come together to discuss issues in social security, broadly defined to include the provision, financing and impact of income maintenance and health care services. Papers that address how social protection systems are evolving in a changing economic, social and political context are particularly welcome. Trends in globalisation, demographic transitions and the impact of recent financial crises, raise challenges about the role and objectives of social protection systems, including what are its primary goals, how should they be achieved and the impact of current efforts on employment, poverty and inequality. Further questions arise about the choice of instruments to be used best to meet social protection challenges and to achieve an appropriate balance between income protection, the quality and accessibility of care and services and investment in human capital.
Papers that address these and related issues from a national or international (comparative) perspective are welcome, particularly from authors in low and middle income countries where social security systems are relatively new and still evolving. Papers that examine the impact of social security systems using either quantitative or qualitative techniques are also welcome, as are those that seek to bridge the gap between research, policy and practice in the general area of social protection.
The Call for Papers is intended to be open and contributions are invited on any aspect of the general themes identified above. Papers that address the following sub themes are particularly welcome, and will form special sessions at the conference if a minimum of three papers is accepted for presentation:
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Recent trends in poverty and income distribution and the redistributive impact of social security
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The nature and impact of recent trends in universalism versus selectivity in social security (including targeting, conditionality, and the balance between rights and responsibilities)
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Social protection and migration (including the portability of social rights, international coordination, citizenship entitlements, and the political and regulatory dimensions of access)
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Social protection and ageing (including pensions, health, social care, budgetary sustainability)
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Social security and specific needs (including people with disabilities, minority ethnic groups, lone parents and youth)
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Social protection and labour market change (including active labour market policies, flexibility, working age benefit dependency (traps), in-work poverty)
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Social protection trends in China and other Asian and developing countries
FISS welcomes submissions from authors from a range of relevant disciplines (e.g. economics, sociology, social policy, political science, public administration, law) and various backgrounds, including academics (at any stage of their career), (inter)national policymakers, experts from both public and private sector bodies, in all regions of the world.
A paper title and abstract (200 – 300 words) should be submitted as an email attachment to the FISS conference organisers at : csb@ua.ac.be . The closing date for the submission of abstracts is 31 January 2013.
Those who have submitted an abstract will be informed by 15 March 2013 whether their proposal has been accepted and be given detail formatting instructions. Full papers should then be submitted in English to the FISS Conference organisers at the Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy (University of Antwerp) no later than 24 May 2013.