CRC 1342 Glossary of Terms for Social Policy Generosity

Abstract

The present Glossary, developed within the context of the Collaborative Research Centre 1342 (CRC 1342), aims to provide key concepts for social policy generosity research and analysis. In the existing literature, there is a considerable variation in the terminology used to describe “who receives what, under which conditions, and to what extent”. Terms such as “generosity”, “social rights”, “entitlements”, and “coverage” are often used interchangeably, while the conceptual frameworks for these terms also vary. To facilitate a common language and understanding, we propose a glossary of overarching, macro-level concept terms and definitions based on collaborative and iterative discussions within the CRC 1342. The Glossary defines generosity as consisting of two dimensions, inclusiveness and scope of benefits, and categorises social benefits into three main types: Cash, in-kind, and regulatory. This framework, which can be adapted according to different applications such as policy field, regional scope and/or research focus, aims to improve clarity and cohesion for collaborative and comparative research.