Action-centered Institutionalism: Reconstructing The Institutional Analysis Frame For Social Policies For Development

At present, social welfare system is experiencing a trend of reform in the whole world. Based on the reflection on and reconstruction of the traditional welfare system, social policy for development is increasingly enlarging its influence. Regarding the history of welfare institutions, social policy for development can be regarded as the third phase of the relationship between social welfare system and labor market system. Before the birth of social policy for development, "dependent-contradictory" tradition advocated by Karl Polanyi and Marshall, T. H. and "subordinate-interactive" tradition advocated by Keynes almost dominated the basic principles for the welfare construction and expansion of many "welfare states" in the post war period, forming the first phase. In the second phase, the contradiction between the two tradition, together with the significant change in economical and social environment and the restoration of new conservationism, has caused that the traditional welfare system, which is dominated by the two traditions, is meeting great challenges from other systems and is facing significant reform. Since 1990s, social policy for development has tried to surpass the previous two welfare systems to reconstruct the relationship between welfare and market, thus bringing the relationship into the third phase.Social policy for development has tried to surpass the previous two welfare systems, and this is realized through a series of policies. It advocates that social policies should focus on social investment not social consumption, should reflect on the right and responsibility to reconstruct the path of structuralization, should integrate economic development and social development and should involve multi-agents to participate in social welfare system. Although in a series of developing ideas, social policy for development has made a breakthrough, it still has some theoretical problems, especially lacking in the support of general theories from sociology. To improve this urgent situation, advocators of social policy for development almost all turned to institutionalism for seeking theoretical support. However, institutionalism of sociology "refused" to give support to social policy for development because from the perspective of institutionalism of sociology, "legitimacy mechanism" provided by institutionalism and "efficiency mechanism" advocated by economics will contradict with each other in principle. In other words, institutions do not exist for the aim of "efficiency", and there are only two possible kinds of relationship between institutions and efficiency:"institutions are irrelevant with efficiency" or "institutions will destroy efficiency". In the analysis of institutionalism of sociology, the new idea advocated by social policy for development, i.e. to employ a kind of new institution to promote economic development and social development, is unlikely to come true.The reason why social policy for development and institutionalism of sociology cannot compromise with each other does not lie in social policy for development itself but lie in the deviation of analysis in institutionalism of sociology. In methodology, institutionalism of sociology derives from "structure domination" view, with the ignorance of social agents' actions in adjusting themselves to institutions, using institutions and changing institutions. Therefore, in institutionalism of sociology, action agents are absent or alienated.Taking social interaction theory as the methodological background, we constructed a new institutionalism analysis frame—action-centered institutionalism, which brings action back to the center of analysis. Action-centered institutionalism does not aim at launch a behaviorism revolution. In fact, it emphasizes that social agents'action and institutions are both the center of the institutional analysis, with special attention given to the interactive relationship between action agents and institutions. Institutions, action and efficiency are the three fundamental elements in action-centered institutionalism. "Personal value frame" mechanism, "strategy instrument case" mechanism and "reflective monitor" mechanism are the key theoretical mechanisms of action-centered institutionalism. "Personal value frame" mechanism, "strategy instrument case" mechanism put emphasis on describing how institutions and action mutually construct action agents' value preference and action strategy while "reflective monitor" mechanism explains the reproduction and the change of institutions.Action-centered institutionalism was put forward to improve the situation that social policy for development lacks in general theoretical support from sociology. It can provide theoretical explanations for social policy for development in such aspects as the relationship between institutions and efficiency, between the economy and society and between development and protection. Moreover, social investment mechanism—the key mechanism of social policy for development—can get great theoretical support from the three mechanisms of action-centered institutionalism. In this way, social investment mechanism could become a middle range theory. In action-centered institutionalism, concrete social policies for development can be expressed as a series of propositions:"social stability effect", "social development effect" and "social change effect"At present, China's social security system is under reform. Borrowing the ideas and advocates from social policy for development is significant for deepening the reform of China's social security system. With regards to "value frame", "sustainable development" still encounters great difficulties in practice although it has been valued by Chinese people in mind. Therefore, only when the coming of a social policy era, together with the deepening of reform, can the idea of social policy for development dominate the construction of China's welfare system. With regards to'strategy instrument case', no matter social assistance system, social insurance system or social welfare system is negative and delayed action. To construct China's social policy for development must involve the idea of development into the construction of social security system. In other words, we must change social assistance into social investment to construct a more positive social insurance system and to exert the investment function of social welfare.