Quality of life, Cohesion Policy, and the European social model

Goodwin-Hawkins, Bryonny ORCID: 0000-0002-9399-5486 (2024) Quality of life, Cohesion Policy, and the European social model. In: EU Cohesion Policy: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 84-98. ISBN 9781802209396

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Abstract

The European Union has explicit ambitions to improve quality of life and ensure citizens enjoy the benefits of economic development. But defining quality of life is complex and contested, in research and policy alike. Differing perspectives on how to measure and support ‘good lives’ have been influential in differing ways, to differing purposes, over time. This chapter considers how policy objectives for improving quality of life have evolved from the first European Social Fund in 1957 through to contemporary Cohesion Policy. The chapter identifies three dominant policy ‘frames’. The living standards frame views quality of life through access to the material benefits available in an increasingly affluent society. The social model frame advocates collective welfare provision from infancy to old age. The territorial well-being frame takes a place-based approach to quality of life within thriving regions. The chapter shows how these co-existing frames define outcomes and determine action.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Quality of life; Well-being; Living standards; Social policy; European social model; Policy frames
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human geography. Human ecology. Anthropogeography H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute
Depositing User:	Marie Steytler
Date Deposited:	19 Jun 2024 09:18
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2024 12:33
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/14181

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