Synopses & Reviews
Examines the different approaches in state spending on pensions and benefits in various countries.
Review
"To those who claim that the welfare state has been over-researched I would suggest that they read Age in the Welfare State. This book revisists the comparative welfare state debate with a novel and innovative life course prism. Julia Lynch starts with a deceptively simple question: why does the age profile of social benefits look so different across countries? Her conclusion, it turns out, is quite at odds with the reigning consensus. With style, elegance, and rigour Lynch shows us that only serious historical scrutiny will provide persuasive answers." Gosta Esping-Andersen, Universitad Pompeu Fabra"In her richly detailed and comprehensive analysis, Julia Lynch describes how nations vary in the way they choose to allocate resources and explains the political consequences of these decisions. She uses both quantitative data and qualitative case studies to provide a rich and compelling account of the causes and consequences of international variations in social spending patterns. Age in the Welfare State is destined to become a classic in the field." Jill Quadagno, Florida State University
Synopsis
'This book is about why state spending on things like pensions, unemployment benefits, and family allowances is tilted towards the elderly in some countries but not in others. The novel way of looking at what welfare states do leads to very different conclusions from the standard literature.\n
'
Table of Contents
'1. Introduction; 2. Measuring the age of welfare; 3. Age and the welfare state: theories and hypotheses; 4. Family allowances: wages, taxes, and the appeal to the self-employed; 5. Benefits for the unemployed: young and old in the fortress labor market; 6. Old-age pensions: the architecture of spending; 7. Conclusion.\n
'