Despite its broad usage, universalism as a concept is not always clearly defined. In this article, a multidimensional definition of universalism in social policy is developed, based on four policy characteristics: inclusion, financing, provision, and the adequacy of benefits. In the empirical part of the article, the feasibility of this definition is tested by an analysis of recent changes in the Swedish welfare state, which is typically described as universal but has undergone substantive reforms since 1990. Four social policy areas are examined: pensions, social insurance, health care, and family policy. The results indicate that Swedish welfare policies retain their universalistic character in some dimensions but have become less universalistic in others. This demonstrates that a multidimensional approach is best suited to capture in full the nature and implications of welfare state reform.

中文翻译：

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福利政策中的普遍主义：1990年后的瑞典案例

尽管普遍性被广泛使用，但作为一个概念的普遍性并不总是很明确。在本文中，基于四个政策特征（包容性，筹资，提供和利益的充分性），对社会政策中的普遍主义进行了多维定义。在本文的经验部分，通过分析瑞典福利国家的近期变化来检验该定义的可行性，瑞典福利国家通常被描述为普遍的，但自1990年以来已进行了实质性改革。研究了四个社会政策领域：养老金，社会保险，医疗保健和家庭政策。结果表明，瑞典的福利政策在某些方面保留了其普遍性，但在其他方面则变得不那么普遍。