Studying the political economy of welfare state reform, this edited collection focuses on the role of public opinion and organized interests in respect to policy change. It highlights that welfare states are hard pressed to reform in order to cope with ongoing socio-economic and demographic challenges. While public opinion is commonly seen to oppose welfare cuts and organized interests such as trade unions have tended to defend acquired social rights, this book shows that there have been emergent tendencies in favour of reform. Welfare State Reforms Seen from Below analyses a wide range of social policies affecting healthcare, pensions and the labour market to demonstrate how social groups and interest organizations differ and interact in their approaches to reform. Comparing Britain and Germany, with its two very different welfare states, it provides a European perspective on the changing approaches to welfare. This book will be of interest to those wanting to learn more about the politics of the welfare state and of relevance to students and academics in the fields of political economy and comparative social policy.

First Published in 1965. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book integrates the fundamentals of quantitative significance, using existing estimates of the elasticities of demand for tax, health insurance, and medical services in a static microsimulation model. It serves as a guide to the financial and social basics of health insurance and provides the reader with the intellectual groundwork indispensable for understanding the incorrect assumptions about the elasticities of demand and pattern of tax and health insurance. Most countries feel constant pressure because expenditure is increasing and resources are scarce. The topics addressed in this book including several frameworks leading to over-insurance, excess demand for medical care, and rapid expenditure growth in the medical care sector. Illustrated by carefully chosen examples and supported by extensive data analyses, this book is highly recommended to readers who seek an in-depth and up-to-date integrated overview of the ever-expanding theoretical and quantitative fields of containing costs, increasing funding for health services, or both.

This book questions whether the recently promoted European 'social investment' strategy is able to regenerate the welfare state, promote social inclusion, create more and better jobs, and help address the challenges posed by the economic crisis, globalisation, ageing and climate change. To assess the diversity, achievements, shortcomings and potentials of social investment policies, it brings together some of the best social policy scholars and well-known policy experts, connecting academic and policy debates around the future of the welfare state. Supported by the Nordic Center of Excellence NordWel and the EU funded Network of Excellence RECWOWE (Reconciling Work and Welfare).

This book explains why the Korean welfare state is underdeveloped despite successful industrialization, democratization, a militant labor movement, and a centralized meritocracy. Unlike most social science books on Korea, which tend to focus on its developmental state and rapid economic development, this book deals with social welfare issues and politics during the critical junctures in Korea's history: industrialization in the 1960-70s, the democratization and labor movement in the mid-1980s, globalization and the financial crisis in the 1990s, and the wind of free welfare in the 2010s. It highlights the self-interested activities of Korea's enterprise unionism at variance with those of a more solidaristic industrial unionism in the European welfare states. Korean big business, the chaebol, accommodated the unions' call for higher wages and more corporate welfare, which removed practical incentives for unions to demand social welfare. Korea's single-member-district electoral rules also induce politicians to sell geographically targeted, narrow benefits rather than public welfare for all while presidents are significantly constrained by unpopular tax increase issues. Strong economic bureaucrats acting as veto player also lead Korea to a small welfare state.

There is no precedent to the current economic crisis which looks set to redefine social policy debate throughout the globe. But its effects are not uniform across nations. Bringing together a range of expert contributions, the key lesson to emerge from this book is that 'the crisis' is better understood as a variety of crises, each mediated by national context. Consequently, there is an array of potential trajectories for welfare systems, from those where social policy is regarded as incompatible with the post-crisis economy to those where it is considered essential to future economic growth and security.

South Korea is a recently rich country with dramatic demography - expensive children, very low fertility, long life and rapid population aging. Its policies and institutions must adjust rapidly to these new economic and demographic realities, and this excellent collection of studies of the welfare state in Korea, North America, and Europe will help guide Korean policy makers in this task.' - Ronald Lee, University of California, Berkeley, US'This book explores a highly topical issue which is of immense importance throughout the world, in both advanced and developing countries. While the demand for social policies has grown strongly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the fiscal space required for such policies has shrunk. On the basis of rigorous analysis and evidence, the authors of this path-breaking work provide concrete and specific directions for fiscally sustainable yet effective social policies that empower and protect the common citizen.' - Donghyun Park, Asian Development Bank, Philippines In response to the global financial crisis, many OECD countries reduced public spending on social policies, with economists now often referring to 'permanent austerity'. Long before the crisis, however, slow economic growth and population aging had already increased the need for rebalancing social expenditure and yet social protection was still far from adequate in many countries. Social Policies in an Age of Austerity is the first major publication on this important topic. The authors of the ten chapters in this book review recent developments in social policies in OECD countries, focusing on the United States and the Republic of Korea, and examining the use of program evaluation in social policies and drawing lessons for policymakers. The contributions cover social and fiscal policy and issues in labor market policy, in addition to the effectiveness of social insurance, education and antipoverty policy. The policies outlined and lessons provided in the book will continue to be valuable to governments, and scholars of advanced and developing countries for decades to come, and to research institutes involved in government and social policy. Contributors: D. Autor, B.-G. Chun, W. Chung, H. Kim, Y. Koh, A.B. Krueger, S.-H. Lee, H.-H. Li, H. Moon, D.W. Schanzenbach, J.K. Scholz, H. Yoo, J.P. Ziliak

In Entitled to Nothing, Lisa Sun-Hee Park investigates how the politics of immigration, health care, and welfare are intertwined. Documenting the formal return of the immigrant as a "public charge," or a burden upon the State, the author shows how the concept has been revived as states adopt punitive policies targeting immigrants of color and require them to "pay back" benefits for which they are legally eligible during a time of intense debate regarding welfare reform. Park argues that the notions of "public charge" and "public burden" were reinvigorated in the 1990s to target immigrant women of reproductive age for deportation and as part of a larger project of "disciplining" immigrants. Drawing on nearly 200 interviews with immigrant organizations, government agencies and safety net providers, as well as careful tracking of policies and media coverage, Park provides vivid, first-person accounts of how struggles over the "public charge" doctrine unfolded on the ground, as well as its consequences for the immigrant community. Ultimately, she shows that the concept of "public charge" continues to lurk in the background, structuring our conception of who can legitimately access public programs and of the moral economy of work and citizenship in the U.S., and makes important policy suggestions for reforming our immigration system.

Culture is not new to the study of migration. It has lurked beneath the surface for some time, occasionally protruding openly into the discussion, usually under some pseudonym. The authors of the papers in this volume bring culture into the open. They are concerned with how culture manifests itself in the migration process for three groups of actors: the migrants, those remaining in the sending areas, and people already living in the recipient locations. The topics vary widely. What unites the authors is an understanding that though actors behave differently, within a group there are economically important shared beliefs (customs, values, attitudes, etc.), which we commonly referred to as culture. Culture plays a central role in our understanding of migration as an economic phenomenon. While the papers in this volume occasionally touch on this diversity and the conflicts it engenders, this is not the focus of the volume. Here the emphasis is on the distinctions in culture between migrants, the families they left behind, and the local population in the migration destination. The new interactions directly affect all three groups. Assimilation is one result; separation is also a possibility. Location choice, workplace interaction, enclave size, the opportunity for the migrant obtaining credit in their new country, the local population's reaction to migrants, the political culture of the migrants and local population, links to the country-of-origin, and the economic state of the host country, all contribute to the classic conflict between assimilation and separation. This volume will consider different aspects of the process of assimilation considering the affect on the migrants themselves, on the local population, on the families left at the home country and others.

Tax by Design identifies what makes a good tax system for an open developed economy in the 21st century and suggests how the UK tax system could be reformed to move in that direction. The recommendations stress the importance of neutrality and transparency in tax design. It draws on the expert evidence from the commissioned chapters and commentaries in Dimensions of Tax Design. It also acknowledges the growing importance of globalised markets and multinational corporations as well as the challenges created by changing population demographics, the growth of new technologies, and the broadened objectives of policy makers.
The Commission's work was directed by:
Timothy Besley
Richard Blundell
Malcolm Gammie
James Poterba
The Commission's editorial team:
Stuart Adam
Stephen Bond
Robert Chote
Paul Johnson
Gareth Myles

Social security is a difficult subject. The British system is highly complex, and the details change rapidly. This new textbook is an accessible, broadly based introduction which helps readers to make sense of the system in Britain. Including a broad scope of coverage and accessibility, the book plays a dual role as a preface to both the existing texts on social security policy and the guides on social security benefits. It also looks at the operation of social security benefits. How Social Security Works describes benefits in general terms, as well as the relationship to the welfare state and aspects of the sociology of benefits. Clearly and succinctly, the book lays out the aims, structure, delivery of Britain's main benefits system. It outlines the development of the system, considering the history and political dimensions, and includes a thematic discussion of the main types of benefit: national insurance, means tested, non-contributory, universal, and discretionary; and it conside

Economists have long sought to maximise economic growth, believing this to be their best contribution to improving human welfare. That approach is not sustainable in the face of ongoing issues such as global climate change, environmental damage, rising inequality and enduring poverty. Alternatives must be found. This open access book addresses that challenge. It sets out a wellbeing economics framework that directly addresses fundamental issues affecting wellbeing outcomes. Drawing inspiration from the capabilities approach of Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, the book demonstrates how persons can enhance prosperity through their own actions and through collaboration with others. The book examines national public policy, but its analysis also focuses on choices made by individuals, households, families, civil society, local government and the global community. It therefore offers important insights for anyone concerned with improving personal wellbeing and community prosperity.

An in-depth study of selected refugees from Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan, this book examines the relationship between the refugees' religious and spiritual beliefs and the refugee experience. Susan P. Ennis takes a close look at the circumstances of refugees' flight, their asylum, and their initial period of settlement in Melbourne, Australia during the period between the 1990s and the early twenty-first century. Ennis finds that a sense of religiosity seemed to aid the refugees, in some way, during all stages of their journey. Furthermore, nearly half of the refugees she studied reported a shift in their religiosity over the course of their emigration. Based on her research, Ennis puts forward a framework of religiosity and the refugee experience based on shifting typologies at each stage of the refugee journey.

Four years ago "Research in Experimental Economics" published experimental evidence on fundraising and charitable contributions. This volume returns to the intrigue with philanthropy. Employing a mixture of laboratory and field experiments as well as theoretical research we present this new volume, "Charity with Choice." New waves of experiments are taking advantage of well calibrated environments established by past efforts to add new features to experiments such as endogeneity and self-selection. Adventurous new research programs are popping up and some of them are captured here in this volume. Among the major themes in which the tools of choice, endogeneity, and self-selection are employed are: What increases or decreases charitable activity? and How do organizational and managerial issues affect the performance of non-profit organizations?

Bill Clinton's 1993-94 health care reform initiative was one of the most active and sustained presidential campaigns ever undertaken in support of a single social issue, and certainly the boldest attempt to establish national health insurance in the United States. An analysis of the Clinton campaign, therefore, reveals much about the politics of divided government in the late 20th century, the apparent end of the New Deal-Great Society approach to governance and the enduring democratic coalition which supported it, and, of course, the high stakes politics of health care reform. This study attempts to advance our understanding of why national health insurance has proven to be such a potent idea while seemingly impossible to accomplish. The work focuses on the political factors which derailed the Clintons' health care reform initiative, providing a case study of a most significant modern-day political and policy battle.

The transformation of night-watchman states into welfare states is one of the most notable societal developments in recent history. In 1880, not a single country had a nationally compulsory social policy program. A few decades later, every single one of today's rich democracies had adopted programs covering all or almost all of the main risks people face: old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. These programs rapidly expanded in terms of range, reach, and resources. Today, all rich democracies cover all main risks for a vast majority of citizens, with binding public or mandatory private programs. Three aspects of this remarkable transformation are particularly fascinating: the trend (the transformation to insurance states happened in all rich democracies); differences across countries (the generosity of social policy varies greatly across countries); and the dynamics of the process. This book offers a theory that not only explains this remarkable transition but also explains cross-national differences and the role of crises for social policy development.

How immigrants and their descendants fare in the host society and in particular in the labor market is a very important question. While differences among ethnicities have been found to be marked and persistent within many host countries, and while the labor market consequences of diversity have been recognized, they have not been sufficiently examined. This volume contains fresh knowledge to help better understand the complex relationship between ethnic or minority groups, the role of ethnic identity and their disparate economic performance; 12 papers that individually and collectively go to the heart of this question. Offering a new paradigm, they tackle and interlink four important themes of immigrants' integration: ethnic identity, citizenship, interethnic marriages, and immigrant entrepreneurship. These papers offer insights and answers to challenging questions for six different immigration countries while they study countless different ethnic and immigrant groups. It is the aim of this volume to bring the role of ethnic identity in the forefront of scientific and political discussion and provide a link among these themes, anticipating new trends and directions in this area. An anthology of these questions is: Does ethnic identity affect the employment and earnings of immigrant groups and in what way? Does dual nationality affect assimilation? To what extent do social interactions determine the employment outcomes of ethnic minorities? Why do Mexican-Americans exhibit low self-employment rates? Which are the factors that influence the composition of the workforce in terms of ethnic-background? Do interethnic marriages influence transitions into and out of ethnic self-employment? And, are interethnic marriages a guarantee to high human capital achievement of their offsprings?

This book offers a European perspective on spatial planning and welfare policies in relation to the new conditions derived from the current urban crisis. The book deals with research and policy issues stemming from the fact that in the last ten years European cities have been affected by a structural crisis, not only financial but also a social, environmental and spatial, leading to an economic collapse. The crisis and its consequences due to political, financial and social conflicts contribute to increasing a city's complexity in terms of decrease of public finance, slowdowns in the real estate market, economic stagnation and the reduction of the consolidated welfare policies. In light of this, this book proposes to reframe European urban welfare towards a "framework-rule" perspective. It is based on new rules and responsibilities as a path to change that would enable cities to respond to new circumstances through innovative actions thanks to co-production. The book focuses on the potential of this approach, identifying innovative perspectives for researchers, institutions and practitioners in the field of urban and regional planning. It also addresses the growth of civic initiatives all over Europe in which citizens and private business are engaged for the self-delivery of urban facilities, while jointly identifying issues and needs, and trying to solve problems with innovative and inclusive responses. This book will appeal to students and researchers along with a professional and policy audience due to the topical nature of the contents.

This text presents a range of concepts and practical methods for housing with illustrative examples of actual projects, where resources are scarce, demand is high, urgency is acute, and where uncertainty is a way of life. The book shows that under these conditions, efficient practice depends upon methods that promote rather than hinder spontaneity, improvization, and incremental development.;The author explores what the changes taking place internationally in housing policy are, why and how they have emerged, and what impact they now have on design and on the attitudes, skills, methods, and tools of designers.;The book shows how plans can emerge in action without a preponderance of user surveys or master planning, and how the three themes of participation, flexibility, and enablement can together improve the efficiency of practice and promote an architecture of co-operation.

This volume explores the relationship between law and economics principles and the promotion of social justice. By social justice, we mean a vision of society that embraces more than traditional economic efficiency. Such a vision might include, for example, a reduction of subordination and discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or class; increased wealth dispersion throughout all sectors of society; a safe and healthy environment; worker rights; and, a flourishing political democracy. The volume chapters here fall into four main categories, Assumptions of Law & Economics; Law & Economics: Implications of Behavioralism; Economics and Corporate Governance: Finding the Holes; and, Gender, Class and Race: Implications of and Alternatives to the Dominant Economic Paradigm. In addition, most of the chapters invoke the lens of corporate law theory or the corporate context as part of their analysis of the intersection of economics and social justice.

The final book from a towering pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality-a critically important examination of poverty around the world In this, his final book, economist Anthony Atkinson, one of the world's great social scientists and a pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality, offers an inspiring analysis of a central question: What is poverty and how much of it is there around the globe? The persistence of poverty-in rich and poor countries alike-is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. Better measurement of poverty is essential for raising awareness, motivating action, designing good policy, gauging progress, and holding political leaders accountable for meeting targets. To help make this possible, Atkinson provides a critically important examination of how poverty is-and should be-measured. Bringing together evidence about the nature and extent of poverty across the world and including case studies of sixty countries, Atkinson addresses both financial poverty and other indicators of deprivation. He starts from first principles about the meaning of poverty, translates these into concrete measures, and analyzes the data to which the measures can be applied. Crucially, he integrates international organizations' measurements of poverty with countries' own national analyses. Atkinson died before he was able to complete the book, but at his request it was edited for publication by two of his colleagues, John Micklewright and Andrea Brandolini. In addition, Francois Bourguignon and Nicholas Stern provide afterwords that address key issues from the unfinished chapters: how poverty relates to growth, inequality, and climate change. The result is an essential contribution to efforts to alleviate poverty around the world.

The Welfare State Reader has established itself as a vital source of outstanding original research since its original appearance in 2000. In the third edition, Pierson, Castles and Naumann have comprehensively overhauled the content, bringing it wholly up to date with contemporary discussions about this most crucial area of social and political life. The book includes seventeen new selections, all reflecting the latest thinking and research in welfare state studies. These readings are organized around contemporary debates, such as the current trajectories of, constraints on and challenges to contemporary welfare regimes, as well as evolving ideas and emergent forms that constitute the future of welfare. In particular, new readings focus on issues such as ageing populations and low fertility, climate change and global financial uncertainty, and nascent 'politics of happiness'. As in previous editions, the volume begins with a collection of readings that provide a grounding in core approaches to welfare, and each section is set in context by a new editorial introduction. As well as bringing together classic debates, The Welfare State Reader represents an invaluable guide to what is happening at the cutting edge of welfare research, giving the reader an unrivalled overview of debates surrounding the welfare state.

A candid explanation of how the labor market really works and is central to everything-and why it is not as healthy as we think Relying on unemployment numbers is a dangerous way to gauge how the labor market is doing. Because of a false sense of optimism prior to the COVID-19 shock, the working world was more vulnerable than it should have been. Not Working is about how people want full-time work at a decent wage and how the plight of the underemployed contributes to widespread despair, a worsening drug epidemic, and the unchecked rise of right-wing populism. David Blanchflower explains why the economy since the Great Recession is vastly different from what came before, and calls out our leaders for their continued failure to address one of the most unacknowledged social catastrophes of our time. This revelatory and outspoken book is his candid report on how the young and the less skilled are among the worst casualties of underemployment, how immigrants are taking the blame, and how the epidemic of unhappiness and self-destruction will continue to spread unless we deal with it. Especially urgent now, Not Working is an essential guide to strengthening the labor market for all when we need it most.

This book, a sequel to Inequality and Public Policy in China (2008), examines the evolution of inequality in China from 2002 to 2007, a period when the new 'harmonious society' development strategy was adopted under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. It fills a gap in knowledge about the outcomes of this development strategy for equity and inequality. Drawing on original information collected from the recent two waves of nationwide household surveys conducted by the China Household Income Project, this book provides a detailed overview of recent trends in income inequality and cutting-edge analysis of key factors underlying such trends. Topics covered include inequality in education, changes in homeownership and the distribution of housing wealth, the evolution of the migrant labor market, disparities between public and non-public sectors, patterns of work and non-work, gender, ethnicity, and the impacts of public policies such as reforms in taxation and social welfare programs.

Oil fuels the global economy and remains a staple of our energy system. Yet, its production and use continue to draw negative criticism, and an increasing number of people want to reduce or eliminate its use altogether. Profits and Power sheds light on how the oil system works, its key players, and the political and geopolitical issues related to its use. Starting in the second half of the nineteenth century, the book traces the fascinating history of how oil production and its sale became the world's most profitable business. Tracing distinct eras in oil's past, Profits and Power shows how periods defined by shifts in price often dictated who controlled production, and who enjoyed the often enormous riches oil production generated. David A. Detomasi weaves together politics, geopolitics, and economics to provide a complete picture of how the system really works, and what direction it will take in the future. As the world becomes increasingly aware of the dangers and challenges oil dependency creates, knowledge of this crucial commodity has never been more relevant and critical for humanity's future. Profits and Power will resonate with anyone interested in, or charged with responding to, our evolving energy future.