This groundbreaking book brings together perspectives from political philosophy and comparative social policy to discuss generational justice. Contributing new insights about the preconditions for designing sustainable, inclusive policies for all of society, the authors expose the possibilities of supporting egalitarian principles in an ageing society through balanced generational welfare contracts. Welfare states are largely structured around social risks that appear in distinct phases of human life, including childhood, working age and old age. By empirically analyzing the causes and consequences of social policy in a large number of countries, the authors show that balanced generational welfare contracts - in which age-related social protection is more evenly distributed across different stages of life - is to the advantage of all age groups, therefore contributing to social justice and welfare state sustainability. The authors offer a combination of descriptive data analysis and statistical regressions to provide robust evidence that countries can avoid generational trade-offs in policymaking and find positive-sum solutions. Appealing to academics, researchers and students of politics and social policy, The Generational Welfare Contract gives expert insight into the possibilities for success in future welfare states.

With welfare to work programmes under intense scrutiny, this book reviews a wide range of existing and future policies across Europe. Seventeen contributors provide case studies and legal, sociological and philosophical perspectives from around the continent, building a rich picture of welfare to work policies and their impact. They show how many schemes do not adequately address social rights and lived experiences, and consider alternatives based on theories of non-domination. For anyone interested in the justice of welfare to work, this book is an important step along the path towards more fair and adequate legislation.