Gender Equalising and Gender Neutral Policies and Their Pitfalls: A Typology of the Gender Dimensions of Social Policies

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Authors: P. Frericks

Volume 14 - p. 2

Content: The restructuring of modern capitalist welfare states is characterised by the tendency to individualise social protection. This article develops a simple and conceptually sound typology to analyse and classify these reforms and measures with regard... to their effects on women’s financial well-being. It distinguishes between policy measures that aim to improve women’s financial situations, policies that reduce women’s benefits and ‘gender neutral’ policies. For distinguishing between policies that have a positive or negative effect on women’s (own) financial situation, I introduce three sets of criteria. The direct elimination of negative discriminatory constraints can work out positively for women. On the other hand, if the conditions that originally motivated the establishment of positive discrimination remain, the elimination of earlier forms of (positive) discrimination can bring unexpected hardship. Therefore, their abolition is often is phased in over quite long periods of time. Other policies that offer new opportunities may benefit certain specific groups of women. However, for a majority of women, they entail a proportional reduction in their entitlements.hide

A Just Distribution of Health Care in the Case of Orphan Medicinal Products: Aligning the Interests of European Economic Integration and National Welfare Policy

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Authors: A. Faeh

Volume 14 - p. 21

Content: Since market integration measures touch upon issues that are the sole responsibility of the Member States, the efforts of the European Union (EU) to achieve a harmonised internal market clash, in some areas, with national welfare policy. Such a con...flict exists where the allocation of health resources is concerned. The EU is very proactive in fostering research and development of medicinal products aimed at treating patients who suffer from rare diseases. The European incentive scheme (Regulation (EC) No. 141/2000) has been a considerable success but, although products are developed, they are not necessarily available to the patient. This is due to the fact that decisions about the price and the reimbursement of these (very expensive) products are made at the national level. This article draws up a framework for distributing limited health resources where medicinal products for rare diseases (orphan medicine) are concerned. The provision in the Patients’ Rights Directive (Dir. 2011/27/EU) on cooperation in health care among the Member States is discussed through the lens of ‘solidarity’ (understood as mutual cooperation) in order to align and remedy the deficits in the system and guarantee the patient access to the product in a timely and equitable manner.hide

Overview of Recent Cases Before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice (September − December 2011)

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Authors: M. Cousins

Volume 14 - p. 41