Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between governmental wellbeing agendas and welfare reforms in New Zealand and The United Kingdom. In both countries, a combination of legislative tools and strategic policy directives are changing how welfare and wellbeing are conceptualised, assessed and supported by government. With the question ‘wellbeing for who?’ at the forefront, this chapter critically discusses the negative impacts of welfare reform on women and the need for gender sensitive and gender-specific evidence on wellbeing. It argues that if wellbeing is consistently being undermined for a particular group of people, and there is insufficient attention to understanding their needs through appropriate methodologies, then this is discriminatory and seriously challenges the political claim of measuring and promoting national wellbeing.
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Acknowledgements
The authors were funded by the Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Europe New Zealand (KEEENZ) under the EU Marie Curie grant scheme, enabling academic collaboration. We are grateful to Dr Carmen Hubbard at Newcastle University for facilitating this exchange. Heartfelt thanks also to Professors Paul Dalziel and Caroline Saunders at Lincoln University NZ and to Professor Bronwyn Hayward at Canterbury University NZ for their hospitality and for many interesting and challenging conversations on wellbeing which fed into this chapter. Thanks also to Professor Ian Bache for his helpful comments on the draft of this chapter.
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Scott, K., Masselot, A. (2018). Skivers, Strivers and Thrivers: The Shift from Welfare to Wellbeing in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In: Bache, I., Scott, K. (eds) The Politics of Wellbeing . Wellbeing in Politics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58394-5_11
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