Sociology

Work (physics)

Politics

Welfare

Care work

Hegemony

Engineering

Political economy

Political science

Public administration

Legitimacy

Mechanical engineering

Journal of Social Policy

Debates on welfare reforms have revolved around institutional inertias with the emphasis on institutions as structures. We argue that political discourses work in the same vein and create continuities constraining the array of possible policy options – political frames as carriers of institutional inertia and path dependence. The data are based on political debates on child home care in Finland and Sweden. The ‘trap for women’ frame became dominant in the Swedish discourse, while in Finland ‘freedom to choose’ has been hegemonic. According to the Swedish frame, public day care offers children the best preconditions for later development and enhances social equality, whereas in Finland care at home with all its positive characteristics was contrasted with bureaucratic institutional care. The article highlights how politicians have used these hegemonic discourses to maintain the legitimacy of certain policy options.

Trap for Women or Freedom to Choose? The Struggle over Cash for Child Care Schemes in Finland and Sweden