Social Impact of the shrinking Dutch Welfare System 

I was joint director in a research project sponsored by IDPAD (Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development) titled ‘The impact of a changing social welfare system on relations within marriage, family and social networks in the Netherlands and the public debate on this process’. Our team comprised of three Indian social scientists and one Dutch  anthropologist. It was an example of ‘reverse research’ which is still relatively rare in anthropology. 

The research was based on ethnographic fieldwork in and around Leiden town, analysis of policy reports and documents,  and interviews with stakeholders in the Dutch welfare system. Apart from the research report, which was presented to our informants for feedback, a joint publication  ‘Care, Culture and Citizenship: Revisiting the Politics of the Dutch Welfare State’ (2005) was an outcome of the project. 

With my informants

My writings on the Dutch Welfare System