Different Types of Welfare States A Methodological….pdfVIP

The Journal of Sociology Social Welfare Volume 29 Article 2 Issue 4 December J uly 2015 Different T pes of Welfare States? A Methodological Deconstruction of Comparative Research Rebecca A. Van Voorhis Calif ornia State University Follow this and additional works at : /jssw Part of the Social Welfare Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Van Voorhis, Rebecca A. (2015) Different Types of Welfare States? A Methodological Deconstruction of Comparative Research, The J ournal of Sociology So cial Welfare: Vol. 29: Iss. 4, Article 2. Availa le at : /jssw/vol29/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access y the Social Work at ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact maira.bundza@. Different Types of Welfare States? A Methodological Deconstruction of Comparative Research REBECCA A. VAN VOORHIS California State University Department of Sociology Social Services Research on modern welfarestates has been strongly influenced by the the- ory that they develop accordingto patterns, whichform distinct regimes- liberal,corporatist,and social democratic. These regimes are characterized by several key variables, among which the decommodification of labor is heavily weighted. This article examines the operational assumptions, measures, and calculationsused in the most widely cited empiricalstudy around which distinct regime theory has developed over the last decade. Thefindings reveal criticalmethodological weaknesses in the conceptual- ization and quantificationof decommodification measures,whichform the empirical cornerstoneof distinct re