European Sociological Review Advance Access published online on March 18, 2009
European Sociological Review, doi:10.1093/esr/jcp010
Directions of Decommodification: Gender and Generosity in 12 OECD Nations, 1980–2000
Department of Sociology, University of California, 3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. Email: cbolzend{at}uci.edu
Although the decommodifying capacity of states (effort to provide a standard of living independent of the market) has been a key focus of welfare state research, its relevance for gender has been less clear. Given large scale changes in gender relations with growing economic, political, and familial equality I suggest the need to reevaluate decommodification from the perspective of gender. Results from descriptive and regression analyses reveal that gender influences are significantly linked to decommodification outcomes. Increases in women's employment and political representation and declining fertility are positively associated with decommodification. Most variation is between nations, yet, a consistent effect of women's labour force participation suggests its influence both within and across welfare states. Outcomes roughly correspond to accepted welfare typologies, and implications for future research on decommodification are discussed.
Manuscript received: June 1, 2008.