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Open research questions in Social Policy and Reform Studies

529 gap statements mined from Social Policy and Reform Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,358 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • While there is evidence that the public is informed about social policy change (eg Table A9; Fernández, Wiß and Anderson 2024), future research should examine the timing of the public responses, as well as investigate how publics respond to discrete policy reforms, such as those related to pension schemes (eg Thurm, Wenzelburger and Jensen 2024).

    Welfare by design: Public responses to the distribution of old-age pensions · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of non-take-up as a socially and morally situated response to conditional compassion, rather than a simple lack of information or a failure of inclusion.

    Ecology of Abandonment: Non‐Take‐Up of Social Rights as a Capitalist Critique · 2026 · DOI

  • Here, the non-finding on the role of territorial identification might also be a result of an important limitation of our experimental design.

    Growing together or apart? Regional inequality and preferences for inter-territorial redistribution · 2026 · DOI

  • By doing so, the article sheds light on an understudied chapter in the history of Christian Democracy, one that is crucial for understanding both the transformation of Christian Democracy since the post-war era and the long-term development of centre-right parties in Europe.

    ‘Professor Hayek Is Not a Member of the ÖVP!’ The Conflictual Beginnings of the West German and Austrian Christian Democrats’ Neoliberalisation · 2026 · DOI

  • The role of social protection in achieving these goals has not been adequately documented.

    Social protection comparison across the world: a study of fiscal, structural and institutional performance discrepancies · 2024 · DOI

  • It remains unclear whether the patterns observed here are generalizable to non-Western contexts or whether cultural, institutional, or economic differences shape the preferences of elites and the public in distinct ways.

    Compensating the losers: The (limited) elite–public gap in trade politics · 2026 · DOI

  • Prior work has emphasized relatively homogeneous deservingness perceptions, but more recent findings point to variation in deservingness perceptions. The paper identifies a gap in understanding how ideology shapes deservingness perceptions.

    Who deserves? Ideological gaps in citizens’ deservingness perceptions · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should consider the post-2008 crisis and Slovenia’s current development model, as well as the precise interests held by the dominant social bloc(s).

    GRADUALIST KEYNESIANISM OR DESIRED LIBERALISATION? ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS OF THE STATE, AND THE CONTRADICTIONS OF NEO-CORPORATISM IN SLOVENIA (1991–2008) · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for research on the impact of market logic on the welfare state.

    RETHINKING THE NEO-CORPORATIST FRAMEWORK: THE CASE OF LONGTERM CARE · 2026 · DOI

  • The article highlights the need for more research on the impact of austerity on vulnerable categories, particularly children and young people.

    Austerity and the Narrowing of Prospects: Education and Employment in Romania · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to consider the complex dynamics of ideas and power in policymaking.

    Unequal policy responsiveness in crisis: Comparing employment insurance reforms in two crises · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of detailed analysis of power dynamics in policy change. The need for a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics between ideas and power. The gap in the literature on unequal responsiveness and its impact on policy change.

    Unequal policy responsiveness in crisis: Comparing employment insurance reforms in two crises · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of how hybrid ALMPs shape citizen-level norms of social solidarity. The need to examine the normative outcomes of social investment policies from a citizen perspective.

    Normative feedback of hybrid ALMPs: Citizen-level norms of social solidarity in France and Belgium · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for a more effective instrument to achieve fiscal and distributive goals. The lack of a comprehensive analysis of the arguments for and against a wealth tax.

    Für und Wider der Wiederbelebung der Vermögensteuer · 2026 · DOI

  • The study notes that resource constraints such as time and money are prominent barriers to CVET participation. The study acknowledges the challenge of measuring CVET interest due to the lack of direct questions in the PIAAC data.

    Institutional adult education regimes · 2026 · DOI

  • The study notes that respondents could only indicate the most important reason for not participating in education and training. The study acknowledges potential selection bias from those who lack interest being less likely to participate in CVET.

    Institutional adult education regimes · 2026 · DOI

  • The role of institutional quality in determining the success of industrial policy has been neglected. There is a need to examine the relationship between Cohesion Fund investment and regional economic growth.

    Institutions at the helm of industrial policy · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap is in understanding how ideological and recipient-based judgments combine to shape perceptions of deservingness. Prior work has identified several factors that influence preferences for social policy, but this specific question has not been fully explored.

    Partisanship and the Social Construction of Deservingness in the United States · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research could examine the relationship between economic vulnerability and preferences for other types of social benefits. Studies could investigate how different policy choices resonate with distinct segments of the electorate. Research could explore the micro-level foundations of policymakers’ electoral incentives in other contexts.

    Welfare by design: Public responses to the distribution of old-age pensions · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to control for unobserved heterogeneity across countries.

    Compensating the losers: The (limited) elite–public gap in trade politics · 2026 · DOI

  • The experiment provides a test of the causal theoretical argument with high internal validity, but this comes at the cost of reduced realism, - The study only covers two countries, France and Germany, - The survey is limited to a representative sample of ca.

    Growing together or apart? Regional inequality and preferences for inter-territorial redistribution · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper notes that there are many kinds of groups in the world, and that SDO can be related to attitudes toward different groups. The paper also notes that the existence of seemingly irrational attitudes can make it challenging to explain social policy attitudes. The paper identifies the omission of SDO as a predictor of social policy attitudes as a challenge that needs to be addressed.

    Desire for group supremacy: the role of social dominance orientation for social policy attitudes · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of public support for fiscal restraint and the need for a new system that makes the economy sustainable. The gap between the current tax system and the need for progressive tax reform. The need for a programme of progressive tax reform that significantly increases tax base and yield.

    UK resident preferences on tax reform: survey-based evidence suggests support for progressive change in the run up to the 2024 General Election · 2026 · DOI

  • Even there, however, in some areas the Tories could be against the there were no standardized policy positions within parties: New Poor Law, while in others they could be strong proponents of it (Fraser, 1976).

    Democracy, Redistribution, and Inequality: Evidence from the English Poor Law · 2026 · DOI

  • Testing additional hypotheses to be discussed in the concluding section, - Incorporating SDO into public opinion surveys, - Exploring the interrelations between SDO and various socio-demographic and institutional…

    Desire for group supremacy: the role of social dominance orientation for social policy attitudes · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Social Policy and Reform Studies

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The lack of understanding of non-take-up as a socially and morally situated response to conditional compassion, rather than a simple lack of information or a failure of inclusion (“Ecology of Abandonment: Non‐Take‐Up of Social Rights as a Capitalist Critique”, 2026); (2) It remains unclear whether the patterns observed here are generalizable to non-Western contexts or whether cultural, institutional, or economic differences shape the preferences of elites and the public in distinct ways (“Compensating the losers: The (limited) elite–public gap in trade politics”, 2026); (3) Future research should consider the post-2008 crisis and Slovenia’s current development model, as well as the precise interests held by the dominant social bloc(s) (“GRADUALIST KEYNESIANISM OR DESIRED LIBERALISATION? ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC…”, 2026); (4) The lack of detailed analysis of power dynamics in policy change (“Unequal policy responsiveness in crisis: Comparing employment insurance reforms…”, 2026); (5) The lack of understanding of how hybrid ALMPs shape citizen-level norms of social solidarity (“Normative feedback of hybrid ALMPs: Citizen-level norms of social solidarity in…”, 2026). 529 gap statements have been mined from Social Policy and Reform Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,358 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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