Synopses & Reviews
The welfare states of affluent democracies now stand at the center of political discussion and social conflict. In these path-breaking essays, an international team of leading analysts demonstrate that the politics of social policy focus on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the post-war social contract rather than its dismantling.
Table of Contents
I: Sources of Pressure on the Contemporary Welfare State Round Up the Usual Suspects! Globalization, Domestic Politics, and Welfare State Change, Herman Schwartz
The Dynamics of Welfare State Expansion: Trade Openness, De-industrailization and Partisan Politics, Torben Iversen
Post-Industrial Pressure on Mature Welfare States, Pierson
II: Adjustment Dynamics: Economic Actors and Systems of interest Intermediation
Welfare States and production Regimes in an Era of Retrenchment, Evelyne Huber and John Stephens
Comparative Institutional Advantages of Welfare State regimes and New Coalitions in Welfare State Reforms, Pilip Manow
The Political Economy of Social Pacts: 'Competative Corporatism' and European Welfare Reforms
III: Adjustment Dynamics: Parties, Elections, and Political Institutions
Political Institutions and Welfare State Restructuring, Duane Swank
Political Institutions, Veto Points, and the Process of Welfare State Adaptation, Giuliano Boboli
IV: Comparing Policy Domains
The Comparative Political Economy of Pension Reform, John Myers and Paul Pierson
Who Pays for Health care Reform?, Susan Giamo
Labour Market Regimes Under Threat? Sources of Continuity in Germany, Britain, and Sweden, Stewart Wood
V. Conclusion
Coping with Permanent Austerity: Welfare State Restructuring in Affluent Democracies, Paul Pierson