Belgium and the Netherlands were perfect examples of the "welfare without work" policy that characterized European welfare states -- until a political crisis in both countries during the early 1990s produced a surprising divergence in administration. While Belgium's government announced major reforms, its social security policy remained relatively resilient. In the Netherlands, however, policymakers implemented unprecedented cutbacks as well as a major overhaul of the disability benefits program. "The Crisis Imperative" explains this difference as the result of crisis rhetoric--that is, the...
Belgium and the Netherlands were perfect examples of the "welfare without work" policy that characterized European welfare states -- until a political...
Politicians, economists, and social theorists tend to agree that globalization and neo-liberal economic policy have contributed to the decline of the social compacts underlying traditional European welfare states. Recently, however, social pacts have demonstrated an impressive resurgence, as governments across Europe facing necessary economic policy adjustments have chosen to view trade unions as vital negotiating partners rather than adversaries. "Wage Setting, Social Pacts, and the Euro" offers a theoretical understanding of the forces that have led to this new understanding, and of the...
Politicians, economists, and social theorists tend to agree that globalization and neo-liberal economic policy have contributed to the decline of the ...
Social scientists, politicians, and economists have recently been taken with the idea that the advanced welfare states of Europe face a "New Social Question." The core idea is that the transition from an industrial to a postindustrial environment has brought with it a whole new set of social risks, constraints, and trade-offs, which necessitate radical recalibration of social security systems. "A New Social Question?" analyzes that question in depth, with particular attention to the problem of income protection and the difficulties facing Bismarckian welfare states. It will be necessary...
Social scientists, politicians, and economists have recently been taken with the idea that the advanced welfare states of Europe face a "New Social Qu...
Though women's employment patterns in Europe have been changing drastically over several decades, the repercussions of this social revolution are just beginning to garner serious attention. Many scholars have presumed that diversity and change in women's employment is based on the structures of welfare states and women's responses to economic incentives and disincentives to join the workforce; "How Welfare States Care" provides in-depth analysis of women's employment and childcare patterns, taxation, social security, and maternity leave provisions in order to show this logic does not hold....
Though women's employment patterns in Europe have been changing drastically over several decades, the repercussions of this social revolution are just...
Losing a job has always been understood as one of the most important causes of downward social mobility in modern societies. And it s only gotten worse in recent years, as the weakening position of workers has made returning to the labor market even tougher. "The Impact of Losing Your Job" builds on findings from life course sociology to show clearly just what effects job loss has on income, family life, and future prospects. Key to Martin Ehlert s analysis is a comparative look at the United States and Germany that enables him to show how different approaches to welfare state policies can...
Losing a job has always been understood as one of the most important causes of downward social mobility in modern societies. And it s only gotten wors...
The integration of second-generation immigrants has proved to be a major challenge for Europe in recent years. Though these people are born in their host nations, they often experience worse social and economic outcomes than other citizens. This volume focuses on one particular, important challenge: the less successful educational outcomes of second-generation migrants. Looking at data from seventeen European nations, Camilla Borgna shows that migrant penalties in educational achievement exist in each one but that, unexpectedly, the penalties tend to be greater in countries in which...
The integration of second-generation immigrants has proved to be a major challenge for Europe in recent years. Though these people are born in their h...
In recent decades, the rapid expansion of lower-quality, atypical employment has created a growing group of people excluded not only from generous labor market protections, but from welfare state coverage as well. This situation would seem to call for increased spending on the social safety net, yet governments throughout continental Europe, especially since the financial crisis, have instead been turning to austerity. As a result, they have had to choose between either extending coverage and retrenching the good benefits given to "insiders" or maintaining the protection, coverage, and...
In recent decades, the rapid expansion of lower-quality, atypical employment has created a growing group of people excluded not only from generous lab...
For nearly forty years now, governments in rich democracies have been shifting labor market risks from the state and employers to employees, cutting the generosity of social programs even as they tightened restrictions on eligibility. This book analyzes those changes in eighteen countries and shows that the most important factor in explaining whether cuts are made is the economic worldview of a particular government. While the economic pressures that are typically pointed to as the causes of these reforms do exist, Alexander Horn shows that they are nonetheless secondary to ideology.
For nearly forty years now, governments in rich democracies have been shifting labor market risks from the state and employers to employees, cutting t...
