Life Course Risks and Welfare States’ Risk Management

Abstract

This chapter proposes a conceptual model that can guide the study of welfare states and the life course. I first distinguish between risk (the probability of a hazard or negative event) and adversity (disadvantage that results from risk). Both the person and the state may attempt to avoid risk and, should it occur, to be prevent disadvantage. At the level of the person, risk is a developmental process involving genetic propensities and early experiences and then embodied characteristics (e.g., behaviors such as decision-making), which may in turn increase the likelihood of risk and disadvantage. States differ greatly in how they attempt to manage the individual’s risk and disadvantage. Further, groups in society (e.g., high and low SES) differ greatly in their developmental patterns of risks and disadvantages. The issue is whether the state attempts to mitigate risk exposures and to compensate for disadvantages among all groups in society. Comparisons of life course risk and disadvantage across states are difficult, with some studies focused on one policy (e.g., involving marital dissolution) and other studies focused on policy regimes. Directions for future research and policy-makers are discussed.