Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 20th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview Main Conference Theme Author(s) Iwona Sobis Goteborg University Göteborg Sweden Title Nothing but trouble: Studies on the effects of reforms in elderly care in Sweden and Poland File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Iwona Sobis Abstract Title: The reforms of care for the elderly in the common Europe 20 years later: Is everybody happy? Author: Iwona Sobis School of Public Administration University of Gothenburg, Sweden iwona.sobis@spa.gu.se Abstract Reforms of public sector, conducted in the spirit of NPM since 1990s are frequently studied by the Western and Eastern scholars (Hood 1995; Pollitt & Bouckaert 2004; Montin 1997; Almqvist 2006; Nemec 2010; Drechsler 2010). The research shows national variations in how the NPM idea was translated and adapted into a country’s context and regulations. NPM is not perceived as the remedial measures for well working public sector (e.g., Nemec 2010; Drechsler 2010; Berlin & Kastberg 2011). However, some economists advocate for the positive impact of NPM on a state budget being in a crisis situation (Feldman & Morrisey 1990; Arvidsson & Jönsson 1991; Newhouse 1996; Lindvall 2001; Lindqvist & Aidemark 2005; Hallin & Siverbo 2010). Instead the representatives of New Institutionalism argue that NPM became a trendy fashion to follow independently of economic conditions (March and Olsen 1989; Czarniawska & Sevón (eds.) 1996; Brunsson & Jacobsson at.al 2002). Care for the elderly seems to be an interesting example of reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM because on the one hand, it goes across a border between welfare and health care. On the other hand, it goes also across a border between the competences of provincial and local authorities in most European countries. Some research shows that old people, their relatives, and staff involved in care providing are disappointed with these reforms i.e. the free choice of care, its poor quality and coordination within the network of care, lacking continuation, while politicians keep going with decentralisation of power, privatisation of social and health services for the elderly, and still create public sector’s artifice competition on a market. Then, some questions should be answered: What really we know about the reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM within the field of care for the elderly in Europe during the period of 1990-2010? What current research, about 15-20 years later is telling about the practical implications of the NPM reforms of care for elderly? What kind of knowledge about care for the elderly is still missing and should be developed in the future? The purpose of this paper is to make a comparative research synthesis in this research field. It is argued that there are still some gaps in our knowledge about care for the elderly especially regarding its organization. Hence, we don’t know what kind of social and health care services represent the best practices for the future in the common Europe. (2 487 characters, 402 words) Key words: NPM, public reforms, care for the elderly, welfare, health care.
