Comparing European welfare regimes at local, national and international levels, ''Welfare and Culture in Europe'' stresses the need for a concept of culture to be incorporated into welfare studies. The book analyzes the theoretical issues behind the emergence of the concept of culture in welfare during a time of crisis and change in Europe. Part 2 ......
This volume deals with the question of welfare provision, which is conceived as the modern civilized response to the problem of poor people in society. Welfare mechanisms have generally been thought of in a relatively limited way, constructed with the world of the able-bodied industrial worker in mind.
Under the welfare reform act of 1996, welfare was the first and most basic safety net program to be sent back to state control. This title examines how the welfare policymaking process has changed. It probes the nature of state welfare politics under devolution and contrasts it with welfare politics on the national level.
Since the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was enacted, policy makers, agency administrators, community activists, and academics from a broad range of disciplines have debated and researched the implications of welfare reform in the United States. Most of the attention, however, has focused on urban rather ......
This text provides a comparative analysis of contemporary and future changes in welfare states, looking at the different patterns found in Europe, North America, the Antipodes, and the emerging scenarios in Latin America, East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. Contributors on each of these regions examine the current structures of social ......
Exerpt from the Financial Times Comment & Analysis: Europe takes on reform of the welfare state: A new study indicates that while the UK has transformed its social policies, the rest of Europe has been far from idle - '[A] stimulating new book on European welfare states [Welfare States under Pressure] suggests that the view of Britain as the only great welfare state reformer is overstated. And it adds that the game across Europe is about to change!. This new study argues that, particularly in the late 1990s, there has been more reform in the rest of Europe than is appreciated in the UK. And that Europe as a whole is on the cusp of much greater changes!. Certainly in France and possibly in Germany, the study judges, the traditional power balance between government, employers, unions and welfare providers has shifted such that government may be able to impose much more drastic measures...In the UK, by contrast, the impact of EU institutions may in some areas mean a degree of levelling up - as in healthcare. The most intriguing question is how far reformed welfare states will retain the social cohesion they are designed to produce. So far, even in the UK, they have proved remarkably resilient - adapting to changing needs rather than being "rolled back". This study's verdict on the issue is "don't know". But so much change is on the way, it says, that "the past is unlikely to be a good guide to the future"' - Nicholas Timmins, The Financial Times Welfare States under Pressure provides a timely and comprehensive review of welfare policy-making in Europe. The text compares the different ways in which welfare states have responded to similar pressures over recent years, and considers how welfare is likely to develop in the future. This work: * provides up to date accounts of welfare development in Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom. * explores how similar pressures can lead to different responses due to different policy-making mechanisms in each of the seven different countries * contains chapters written by leading national experts * written accessibly, and tightly edited, with each chapter following the same conceptual structure. This volume takes a fresh approach in its analysis of the future of the welfare state in Europe. It suggests that opportunities for radical change in welfare systems are now opening up, and that there will be little continuity between the future and the past/present of the welfare system in Europe. Welfare States under Pressure is invaluable to undergraduate students in social policy, European studies and politics, and will also be of great use to other social science students interested in Europe and its future development.
Exerpt from the Financial Times Comment & Analysis: Europe takes on reform of the welfare state: A new study indicates that while the UK has transformed its social policies, the rest of Europe has been far from idle - '[A] stimulating new book on European welfare states [Welfare States under Pressure] suggests that the view of Britain as the only great welfare state reformer is overstated. And it adds that the game across Europe is about to change!. This new study argues that, particularly in the late 1990s, there has been more reform in the rest of Europe than is appreciated in the UK. And that Europe as a whole is on the cusp of much greater changes!. Certainly in France and possibly in Germany, the study judges, the traditional power balance between government, employers, unions and welfare providers has shifted such that government may be able to impose much more drastic measures...In the UK, by contrast, the impact of EU institutions may in some areas mean a degree of levelling up - as in healthcare. The most intriguing question is how far reformed welfare states will retain the social cohesion they are designed to produce. So far, even in the UK, they have proved remarkably resilient - adapting to changing needs rather than being "rolled back". This study's verdict on the issue is "don't know". But so much change is on the way, it says, that "the past is unlikely to be a good guide to the future"' - Nicholas Timmins, The Financial Times Welfare States under Pressure provides a timely and comprehensive review of welfare policy-making in Europe. The text compares the different ways in which welfare states have responded to similar pressures over recent years, and considers how welfare is likely to develop in the future. This work: * provides up to date accounts of welfare development in Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom. * explores how similar pressures can lead to different responses due to different policy-making mechanisms in each of the seven different countries * contains chapters written by leading national experts * written accessibly, and tightly edited, with each chapter following the same conceptual structure. This volume takes a fresh approach in its analysis of the future of the welfare state in Europe. It suggests that opportunities for radical change in welfare systems are now opening up, and that there will be little continuity between the future and the past/present of the welfare system in Europe. Welfare States under Pressure is invaluable to undergraduate students in social policy, European studies and politics, and will also be of great use to other social science students interested in Europe and its future development.
This collection provides a focal point for the study and analysis of welfare in developed societies. It comprises the key contributions that have been made to the understanding of welfare by leading theorists and researchers of social policy from the last century to the present day. It draws in particular on seminal articles and papers published in academic journals and major edited collections which have been important in underpinning both later academic study and policy development. A wide historical reach gives readers across the world access to a range of material that focuses on international and comparative analysis. Part One: Welfare Theory Part Two: The Development of Welfare Part Three: The Social Context of Welfare
