Analysis of Social Welfare Issues of Portugal, Romania, and Brazil (Essay Sample)

COMPARATIVE SOCIAL WELFARE
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Comparative Social Welfare
Introduction
Proper maintenance of the social welfare of the people is a critical aspect of governance as it gives people the capacity to live within their fullest potential. Comparative social welfare analysis is expected to yield appropriate information which can guide the development of relevant policies (Edmiston, 2017). In a comparative welfare analysis, it is usually possible to identify some significant advantages and disadvantages of specific ideologies, thus allowing the policy-makers to make decisions guided by evidence. By comparing different countries, it is possible to identify the underlying differences and reasons that lead to such differences (Moth and Lavalette, 2019). Therefore, the paper intends to present the findings of a comparative social welfare analysis of Portugal, Romania, and Brazil. The welfare issue that will be the primary focus of the comparison is healthcare, pension, and the unemployment support issued to the three countries.
The Development of the Countries' Welfare System
Different sets of theoretical models have encouraged the development of the welfare system in the three countries. In Portugal, the development of the country's welfare system was inspired by the need to improve the people's ways of life (Fernandes and Branco, 2017). Hence, different state agencies came together to develop strategies that would help address the healthcare, elderly, and unemployed. The welfare system adopted by Portugal is the Universal approach as the system seeks to improve the lives of all the citizens. The case of Romania and Brazil was slightly different as the activists mainly motivated the change in various levels of society (Androniceanu, 2017). Accordingly, the unique status of the welfare development in countries indicates that different sets of factors usually inspire the development process. Romania has adopted the non-contributory system of welfare as the citizens are not required to make any contribution towards the welfare services being issued to them. Brazil, on the other hand, has adopted the discretionary system since the local authorities and the social workers are tasked with the responsibility to dictating the type of support meant to be given to the citizens.
Similarities and Differences between the Three Countries
There exist some sets of similarities and differences upon the examination of the three countries. These similarities and differences relate to the status of the social issues that involve healthcare, pension, and support to the older adults in the population.
Similarities
The analysis of the three countries indicates that the provision of comprehensive healthcare is an idea that the three countries have rolled out. Health care is a crucial social welfare issue as it allows people to lead healthy lives. As a result, Romania, Brazil, and Portugal have rolled a plan to ensure that all the citizens are issued with essential medical care. Various factors effectively support the existence of such a similarity among the three countries. First, the three countries tend to have a fully functioning healthcare system that can address the healthcare needs of the people (McGaghie, Barsuk, and Wayne, 2020). Therefore, the provision of comprehensive healthcare is an easy issue as the countries have the manpower to facilitate its provision. Furthermore, in terms of financial allocations, the three countries tend to make appropriate financial allocations to cater to their people's healthcare needs. As a result, the provision of comprehensive healthcare is an easy issue as the three countries tend to have the capacity to make such provisions (Crawford, Baily, and Monks, 2019. The existence of these similarities in terms of the measures put in place to enhance the quality of healthcare services issued to the people has led to improvements in the health status of the population members across all ages.
Additionally, another essential social welfare issue common to the three countries is security status. Notably, security is a vital element of social welfare as it promotes other essential services such as health, education, among others. In the three countries, an improvement in the levels of security has been the main issue highly valued by the government. In the course of history, the three countries have faced different forms of political instabilities that extensively affected their capacity to attain their highest levels of security. As a result, the government applied the theoretical concept of institutionalism to guarantee that all the institutions uphold specific policies that can improve the levels of security. The theoretical concept of institutionalism in policy formulation is especially critical as it ensures that proper rules are effectively put in place to address the welfare issues that tend to affect the people at various levels of governance (Ansell, 2021). The underlying reason behind the high levels of security status is linked to the fact that the three countries tend to prioritise the security of their citizens. According to the descriptions of The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, the provision of security is a crucial aspect of governance as it is expected to ensure that the essential needs of the people are effectively addressed in a manner that allows them to lead the highest qualities of life (Powell, Yörük, and Bargu, 2020). Consequently, the existence of such a belief among the government in the three countries is the underlying reason behind the prevalence of the similarities in terms of the provisions of security to the people.