Economics
The Welfare State and Decommodification of Labor
Quick fact
The concept of decommodification, introduced by Danish sociologist Gøsta Esping-Andersen in 1990, measures how much welfare state benefits allow people to maintain a socially acceptable standard of living without relying on selling their labor power.
Why this is interesting
Imagine having a safety net so strong that you could quit your job without fear of losing your home or health care. That is the idea of decommodification—and some countries design their welfare states to make this easier than others.