The Internationalization of Long Term Care Provision

This article analyses the extent and form of internationalization of the three largest for-profit providers of long term nursing and residential care for older people in the UK. This is a departure from most contributions to the analysis of the relationship between globalization and welfare, which have been focused at the level of the nation state. In focusing upon internationalized providers of welfare services, the article borrows from other disciplines such as international business studies. All three firms are found to be internationalized to some extent, although the form of that internationalization varies. This internationalization reflects the growing internationalization of services within the world economy more generally. The strategies of all three firms can be characterized as `market seeking' rather than `client following'. The parallel processes of internationalization and concentration are likely to increase in the UK long term care sector, as such firms take advantage of economies of scale at the expense of smaller providers.