Green, Donna L. (2014) The sustainability of the social democratic welfare state in recessionary periods : a case study of Barbados 1974 -1994. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the factors and forces which contributed to the continued existence of Barbados’ social democratic welfare development model, despite changes in the global economy which favoured neoliberal policies promoted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This is achieved through an assessment of three World Bank funded education projects which were negotiated and implemented from 1974 to 1994. During this period the Government of Barbados also entered into three stabilisation programmes and a structural adjustment loan with the International Monetary Fund. These periods create the ideal analytical platform to investigate the impact of, and resistance to, the neoliberal ideology espoused by the World Bank and the IMF on Small Island Developing States. The thesis therefore contributes to the dearth of information on the welfare states in developing countries and highlights the importance of understanding the socio-political history, especially the role of colonialism, when assessing the emergence of social policy and planning in the global South.

A thorough investigation of this period (1974 to 1994) was conducted, and the data collected from interviews and public archives disclosed that in times of crisis the social democratic welfare state model is challenged but it is the labour unions who strategically organise themselves to confront what they perceive as a movement away from the core principles of the model. They confront both the local policymakers and the international financial institutions. This study therefore demonstrates that even in difficult times some level of agency can still be expressed. This however, in the case of Barbados, did not happen at the level of the technocrats but from the level of organised labour. The case of the labour movement in Barbados, specifically the teachers’ unions (Barbados Union of Teachers and the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union) demonstrated that at the height of the neoliberal agenda organised labour was and still is significant in determining the direction of state policy.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Welfare state -- Barbados, Socialism -- Barbados, Depressions, Barbados -- Economic conditions -- 20th century, Barbados -- Social conditions -- 20th century
Official Date:	December 2014
Dates:	Date Event December 2014 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Mizen, Phil ; Brassett, James
Extent:	viii, 306 leaves
Language:	eng

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