Transformations of the Welfare State
Small States, Big Lessons
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP Oxford
- Date of Publication 3 June 2010
- ISBN 9780199296323
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages336 pages
- Size 241x162x29 mm
- Weight 668 g
- Language English 0
Categories
Short description:
Transformations of the Welfare State analyses several small, advanced OECD economies to assess whether the welfare state can compete under the conditions of an increasingly integrated world economy. Looking to the future of the welfare state, in an era newly marked by profound uncertainty, the authors sound an optimistic note.
MoreLong description:
Transformations of the Welfare State gives a new twist to the longstanding debate on the impact of economic globalization on the welfare state. The authors focus on several small, advanced OECD economies in order to assess whether (and how) the welfare state will be able to compete under conditions of an increasingly integrated world economy.
Small states can be seen as an 'early warning system' for general trends, because of their dependence on world markets and vulnerability to competitive pressures. The book's theoretical part innovatively integrates the literature on the political economy of small states with more recent research on the impact of globalization on social policy to generate a set of ideal-typical policy scenarios. In the main body of the book, the authors systematically test these scenarios against the experience of four countries: Austria, Denmark, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
The comparative, in-depth analysis of reform trajectories since the 1970s in four key policy areas -- pensions, labour market policy, health care, and family policy -- provides, according to the authors, substantial evidence of a new convergence in welfare state patterns. They go on to argue that this amounts to a fundamental transformation of the welfare state from the old Keynesian welfare state positioned 'against the market' to a new set of supply-side policies 'with' and 'for' the market. Yet one of the big lessons to be learned from this timely study is that the transformation does not match the doomsday scenario predicted by neo-classical economists in the 1990s. There is no evidence of a 'race to the bottom' of social expenditure and standards of social protection, nor of a convergence towards a 'liberal' social policy model. Looking to the possible future of the welfare state in an era newly marked by profound uncertainty, the authors sound an optimistic note for states of any size.
The word restriction of this review does not allow sufficient appreciation of the four country studies. All four are excellent. They are rich in detail, historically informed, well structured and give an excellend overview of teh reform trajectories in the four investigated policy sectors... In sum, the book offers significant lessons on transformation of teh welfare state in small states. It is extremely valuable for teaching, having the potential to become a bible in welfare state courses for the next decade. The book is of interest no only because of the detailed country studies it contains but also because it shows how political factors matter. It makes clear why political science is indispensable in comparative welfare state research.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Austria: The 'Island of the Blessed' in the Ocean of Globalisation
Denmark: The Survival of a Social-democratic Welfare State
New Zealand: Retrenchment and Reconstruction
Switzerland: from Liberal to Conservative Welfare State - a Pattern of Late Maturation?
Comparative Perspectives
References
