Concept and Practices of Preventive Social Policy in Germany and Some Lessons for China

Xiaoshan Ni and Ute Klammer ()
Additional contact information
Xiaoshan Ni: College of Foreign Languages, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Ute Klammer: Institute for Work, Skills and Training, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Since the 1990s, discussion on changes in the welfare state models and social policies shifts has intensified globally, primarily driven by the new technological revolution and aging populations. In parallel, Germany has placed increasing importance on preventive social policies, aligning with the evolving concept of social investment theory in Europe. This article examines preventive social policy in Germany through the analysis of policy documents, expert reports, and academic papers. We elucidate its conceptual framework, guiding principles, and action strategies. Furthermore, we showcase representative preventive social policies at both the federal and state levels, highlighting their accomplishments and challenges. Lastly, we endeavor to bridge the theoretical and practical aspects of German preventive social policy with China’s social policy reform goals. We suggest that China can draw lessons from Germany’s innovative concept of preventive social policy, emphasizing a life-cycle perspective in institutional design, policy implementation, and outcome evaluation, as well as fostering diverse networking approaches at the governance level to address the challenges inherent in social policy development.

Keywords: social investment theory; preventive social policy; self-determination; equal opportunities; life cycle; networking approaches (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14847/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14847/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14847-:d:1259101

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().