Europe's mass unemployment and the call for extensive labour market de-regulation have, perhaps more than any other contemporary issue, impassioned political debate and academic research. With contributions from economists, political scientists and sociologists, Why Deregulate Labour Markets? takes a hard look at the empirical connections between unemployment and regulation in Europe today, utilizing both in-depth nation analyses and broader-based international comparisons. The book demonstrates that Europe's mass unemployment cannot be directly ascribed to excessive worker protection. Labour market rigidities can, however, be harmful for particular groups. The weight of the evidence suggests that a radical strategy of de-regulation would probably cause more harm than benefits for European economic performance.

These essays analyze the ideological and historical sources of the apparent reversal of the pattern of welfare state expansion in the United States, Great Britain, and Western and Eastern Europe.

Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in western societies. G?sta Esping--Andersen, one of the most distinguished contributors to current debates on this issue, here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced western societies. Esping--Andersen distinguishes several major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different western countries. Current economic processes, the author argues, such as those moving towards a post--industrial order, are not shaped by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences. Fully informed by comparative materials, this book will have great appeal to everyone working on issues of economic development and post--industrialism. Its audience will include students and academics in sociology, economics and politics.

The Golden Age of postwar capitalism has been eclipsed, and with it seemingly also the possibility of harmonizing equality and welfare with efficiency and jobs. Most analyses believe the the emerging postindustrial society is overdetermined by massive, convergent forces, such as tertiarization, new technologies, or globalization, all conspiring to make welfare states unsustainable in the future. This text takes a more sociological and institutional look at the driving forces of economic transformation. What, as a result, stands out is postindustrial diversity, not convergence. Macroscopic, global trends are undoubtedly powerful, yet their influence is easily rivalled by domestic institutional traditions, by the kind of welfare regime that, some generations ago, was put in place. It is, however, especially the family economy that hold the key as to what kind of postindustrial model will emerge, and to how evolving tradeoffs will be managed. 20th-century economic analysis depended on a set of sociological assumptions that, now, are invalid. Hence, to better grasp what drives today's economy, we must begin with its social foundations. This book is intended for students and scholars of

Leading scholars in the field examine the highly topical issue of the future the welfare state in Europe. They argue that welfare states need to adjust, and examine which kind of welfare architecture will further Europe's stated goal of maximum social inclusion and justice. The volume concentrates on four principal social policy domains; the aged and transition to retirement; the welfare issues related to profound changes in working life; the new risks and needs that arise in households and, especially, in child families; and the challenges of creating gender equality.

This comparative analysis of Scandinavian social democracies argues that the fate of socialist parties is decided, to a significant degree, by their own policies and reforms_not solely by the changes in social structure emphasized in previous studies. Combining quantitative analysis and historical case studies to demonstrate the electoral effects of party policy, Gosta Esping-Andersen formulates a theory that is applicable not only to Scandinavia but to Western Europe as a whole. In addition, he explains why the support basis of social democracy has deteriorated so much more in Denmark than in Sweden and Norway Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Leading scholars in the field examine the highly topical issue of the future of the welfare state in Europe. They argue that welfare states need to adjust and examine which kind of welfare architecture will further Europe's stated goal of maximum social inclusion and justice. The volume concentrates on four principal social policy domains; the aged and transition to retirement; the welfare issues related to profound changes in working life; the risks and needs that arise in households and, especially, in child families; and the challenges of creating gender equality. The volume aims to promote a better understanding of the key welfare issues that will have to be faced in the coming decades. It also warns against the all-too-frequent recourse to patent policy solutions that have all to often characterized debate. It intends to move the policy debate from its often frustrating vague and generic level towards greater specificity and nuance.

Europe's mass unemployment and the call for extensive labour market de-regulation have, perhaps more than any other contemporary issue, impassioned political debate and academic research. With contributions from economists, political scientists and sociologists, Why Deregulate Labour Markets? takes a hard look at the empirical connections between unemployment and regulation in Europe today, utilizing both in-depth nation analyses and broader-based international comparisons.

The Golden Age of postwar capitalism has been eclipsed, and with it seemingly also the possibility of harmonizing equality and welfare with efficiency and jobs. In his first major book since The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Europe's leading analyst of the welfare state presents a provocative examination of postindustrial economies at the end of the twentieth century.

Published in Association with UNRISD, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development This wide-ranging comparative analysis of contemporary and future changes in welfare states examines the different trajectories of the welfare states of Europe, North America, the Antipodes, and the emerging scenarios in Latin America, East Asia, and central and eastern Europe. Leading experts from these regions explore the current structures of social protection, consider the causes of the current welfare state crisis, and highlight evolving trends for welfare policy. The emerging picture is one of varied policy choices in each region. Contributors argue that anxieties about population aging as a cause of welfare decline are exaggerated and that the key issue for welfare states is enabling women to work and form families simultaneously. They suggest that the neoliberal strategy of deregulation and heightened inequality is no real solution because its negative side effects. The authors conclude that a viable positive-sum solution would involve social investment strategies, offering guarantees against entrapment in poverty or low-paying jobs. Professionals and researchers in comparative social policy, sociology, economics and political science will find Welfare States in Transition an invaluable resource.

Has the onset of post-industrial societies in any way changed or altered class structures? How have social stratification and social mobility changed in light of new post-industrial societies? Drawing together comparative research on the dynamics of social stratification in a number of key advanced societies, the contributors to this impressive volume develop a framework for the analysis of post-industrial class formation. They illustrate the significance of relations between the welfare state and the household and the critical interface between gender and class. Case studies of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Norway, and Sweden explore the differing application of these ideas in individual welfare states. "This collection is very useful for its comparative data on occupational mobility and because it refutes the proposition that there exists currently a large, homogeneous and permanently trapped new servant class in the advanced capitalist societies." --International Journal of Urban and Regional Research