Internal coordination of social security in the Netherlands
| Author | Gijsbert Vonk,Febe de Jong |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262719844985 |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Internal coordination
of social security
in the Netherlands
Febe de Jong
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Gijsbert Vonk
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Abstract
This article outlines the internal coordination of regional and local social security schemes in the
Netherlands. The Netherlands is a decentralised state with a strong central government. Social
security is largely a matter for central government. The article therefore focuses on the area of
social assistance and social care, characterised by a system of ‘regulated decentralisation’. It
outlines the state of decentralisation, the conflict rules and the coordination mechanisms and,
finally, describes the financial regime of the decentralised schemes.
Keywords
The Netherlands, social insurance, s ocial assistance, health care, socia l care, decentralisation,
internal coordination
Devolution and decentralisation in Dutch social security: General
remarks
State structure
The Netherlands is a decentralised unitary state divided between a strong central government,
provinces and municipalities.
The Constitution also recognises some other public bodies that exercise government power. In a
separate category are the water authorities, which are traditionally powerful entities in the field of
water management and are obviously needed in a country like the Netherlands. Other public bodies
Corresponding author:
Prof. Dr. Gijsbert Vonk, Department of Administrative Law and Public Administration, University of Groningen, Postbus
716, 9700 AS Groningen, the Netherlands.
E-mail: g.j.vonk@rug.nl
European Journal of Social Security
2019, Vol. 21(2) 163–173
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1388262719844985
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