VERONICA ANULIKA OGBOO

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

KPT/CASS/10/2073

COURSE: SOCIAL POLICY

ASSIGNMENT ON
ORIGIN OF SOCIAL POLICY

An Introduction to Social Policy
Social Policy
Social policy is the study of social services and the welfare state. In general terms, it looks at the idea of the social welfare. And its relationship to politics and society. More specifically, it also considers detailed issues in
Modem government is based on a social contact between citizens and the state in which rights and duties are agreed to by all to further the common intrest . citizens lend their support to a government through taxes and efforts to a country’s good. In return, government acquire legitimacy by protecting the people’s rights and through public policies that benefit all. However, policy making is often captured by powerful groups and elites. Making government policies based and accountable to the majority and citizens. With half the world’s population living below the two dollar a day poverty line. Ineffective social policies can be the spark for state breakdown. Lack of opportunity, authoritarian rule, gross inequity, exclusion and deprivation-all increase the likelihood of a state’s de-legitimization and withdrawal of its citizens support. Leading to social disintegration. Conflict and violence

Social policy is an instrument applied by governments to regulate and supplement market institutions and social structures. Social policy is often defined as social services such as education, health, employment, and social security. However, social policy is also about redistribution, protection and social justice. Social policy is about bringing people into the center of policy-making, not by providing residual welfare, but by mainstreaming their needs and voice across sectors, generating stability and social cohension. Social policy is alsoinstumental in that governments use it pragmatically to secure the political support of citizens, and to promote positive economic outcomes by enhancing human capital and productive employment. Social policies can also create a virtuous circle linking human and economic development that, in the long run, will benefit everybody by boosting domestic demand and creating stable cohesive societies
HISTORY OF SOCIAL POLICY
The earliest example of direct intervention by government in human welfare dates back to Umar ibn al-Khattāb's rule as the second caliph of Islam in the 6th century. He used zakah collections and also other governmental resources to establish pensions, income support, child benefits, and various stipends for people of the non-Muslim community.[5]
In the West, proponents of scientific social planning such as the sociologist Auguste Comte, and social researchers, such as Charles Booth, contributed to the emergence of social policy in the first industrialised countries. Surveys of poverty exposing the brutal conditions in the urban slum conurbations of Victorian Britain supplied the pressure leading to changes such as the reform of the Poor Law and the welfare reforms carried out by the British Liberal Party. Other significant examples in the development of social policy are the Bismarckian welfare state in 19th century Germany, social security policies introduced under the rubric of the New Deal in the United States between 1933 and 1935, and health reforms in Britain following the Beveridge Report of 1942.
Social policy in the 21st century is complex and in each state it is subject to local, national and supranational political influence. For example, membership of the European Union is conditional on member states' adherence to the Social Chapter of European Union law and other international laws.
In the 1980s, the scope of social policy, focused on delivery of limited services and welfare, was insufficient to achieve balanced social and economic development. Social policy was considered residual, secondary to the focus on the growth as then mainstream development theory focused on economic, growth, as such social policy was given lesser importance and funding, and often was centered on mitigating the unintended consequences of economic change.
This minimalist vision of social development was not common in earlier times in the 20th century. On the contrary, today’s high income economics invested heavily in the development. And the populations of Europe, Japan. North America, Australia and New Zealand experienced a level of prosperity unseen in history. Following the instrument for nation building. East Asia’s social policies or the comprehensive social security systems in some Latin American countries are examples of these initiatives. These governments saw that social investments were essential not only to modernize and develop a country, but also to achieve social cohesion and political stability.
In the early 21st century, a consensus has emerged that social policy is part of the primary function of the state, and that social policy is more than limited set of safety nets and services to cover market failure. Well designed and implemented social policies can powerfully shape countries, foster employment and development, eradicate marginalization and overcome conflict. They are an essential part of any National Development Strategy to achieve growth and equitable social outcomes.
Social policy is also necessary in a globalizing world. The extreme inequality in the world distribution of income and assets seriously undermines the effectiveness of global growth in reducing poverty. The magnitude of distribution asymmetric is significant: in 2000, the richest 1 per cent of adults alone owned 40 percent of global assets, and the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85 percent of total world assets, in contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barley 1 per cent of global wealth. This urgent need to reduce poverty, exclusion and conflict has brought social policy to the forefront of the development agenda

CONCLUSION
Effective policies to redress poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity are an urgent imperative. Social policy, as an integral part of public policies, provides a set of instruments to regulate and supplement market institutions and social structures, ensuring redistribution, protection, cohesion and social justice. Social policiescomplement and reinforce economic development by enhancing human capital and productive employment. Governments launch National Development Strategies to build countries that are socially inclusive, employment generating, economically robust socially inclusive, employment generating, economically robust and politically stable.
National Development Strategies are not only a technocratic exercise; they are an
Opportunity to rethink a country's social contract. This requires the creation of
Supportive political coalitions, while resisting policy capture by elite or vested interests. This Policy Note presents the steps necessary in drafting inclusive National Development Strategies: diagnosis of social priorities, selection of policy options, financing, implementation, monitoring, participation and political sustainability. A set of critical issues are discussed: the need to mainstream equity across sectors, from energy to transport; the need for universal policies, with attention to the poor and excluded groups; and the need of short-term initiatives complementing long-term policies, to ensure that urgent social issues are addressed rapidly, and political support for governments remains stable.
Selected social policy instruments to fast-track equitable and inclusive social
Development are presented in the areas of employment, education, health,
Social protection, culture, and conflict prevention. These selected policy options areaccompanied by implementation issues. There are no best solutions or “one
-size-fits-all” formulas. Each country has different social needs, development objectives and fiscal capacity to achieve them, and will choose a different set of policies. Finally, this Policy Note closes with some remarks on the need for better global governance to reduce global poverty and social inequities. The challenge of our generation is to shape globalization, to manage it equitably and sustainably. This may be done by means of international and regional social policies, accompanied by increased development aid, aligned and harmonized, supporting equitable national development strategies. The responsibility is to build a better 21st century for all is in our hands.

REFERNCES
Birdsall, Nancy (2005) why inequality matters in a Globaliazing World
World Institute for Development Economics Research Annual Lecture, Helsinki
Booth, David, and Zaza Curran (2005) Aid Instruments and Exclusion Report
For the UK Department for International Development. London: Overseas Development Institute