The New Politics of the Welfare State - Tapa dura

It is hard to exaggerate the theoretical contributions that The New Politics of the Welfare State makes. Numerous insights for future research agendas can be discerned in the volume ... an inspiring comparative book. (Japanese Journal of Political Science)

There is no doubt that The New Politics of the Welfare State, edited by Paul Pierson, is on the top of the reading list for students of comparative politics and welfare states. The authors clearly demonstrate the impacts of post-industrialization, aging populations, and globalization on welfare reforms under various political settings and different policy legacies. They also successfully define pressing research agendas for further investigations. (Japanese Journal of Political Science)

There is much in this collection to admire. The quality of the individual pieces is evident, and there are useful insights on issues like deindustrialisation, decommodification, and the adaptation of economic production to different institutional contexts ... a worthwhile acquisition for a library. (Social Policy)

The welfare states of the affluent democracies now stand at the centre of political discussion and social conflict. In these path-breaking essays, an international team of leading analysts rejects simplistic claims about the impact of economic 'globalization'. Economic, demographic, and social pressures on the welfare state are very real, but many of the most fundamental challenges have little to do with globalization. Nor do the

authors detect signs of a convergence of national social policies towards an American-style lowest common denominator. The contemporary politics of the welfare state takes shape against a backdrop of both intense pressures for austerity and enduring popularity. Thus in most of the affluent democracies, the politics of social policy centre on the renegotiation, restructuring, and modernization of the post-war social contract rather

than its dismantling. The authors examine a wide range of countries and public policies arenas, including health care, pensions, and labour markets. They demonstrate how different national settings affect whether, and on what terms, centrist efforts to restructure the welfare state can succeed.