The Politics of the New Welfare State

Edited by Giuliano Bonoli and David Natali

336 pages | 234x156mm

 Paperback | 27 September 2012

• Publisher: OUP Oxford (27 Sep 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199645256
• ISBN-13: 978-0199645251

Since the early 1990s, European welfare states have undergone substantial changes, in terms of objectives, areas of intervention, and instruments. 

Traditional programmes, such as old age pensions have been curtailed throughout the continent, while new functions have been taken up. 

At present, welfare states are expected

• to help non-working people back into employment, 
• to complement work income for the working poor, 
• to reconcile work and family life, 
• to promote gender equality, 
• to support child development, and 
• to provide social services for an ageing society. 

The welfare settlement that is emerging at the beginning of the 21st century is nonetheless very different in terms of functions and instruments from the one inherited from the last century. This book seeks to offer a better understanding of the new welfare settlement, and to analyze the factors that have shaped the recent transformation.