Converging Worlds of Welfare?
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Converging Worlds of Welfare? British and German Social Policy in the 21st Century

By Jochen Clasen
Oxford University Press May 2011

Specifications

ISBN-13
9780199584499
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication
May 2011
Format
Hardback , 360 pages
Jurisdiction
Germany, U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

  • Features detailed policy reviews of three main areas: family policy, pensions, and labour markets
  • Informed comparative analyses of welfare policies in the UK and Germany which highlight their similarities and differences
  • Focuses on public and private welfare provision
  • Takes into account country-specific features and influences

This book takes stock of major and recent developments in welfare policy in the UK and Germany. Concentrating on trends since the 1990s it compares the similarities and differences between the two countries and analyses the degree to which social attitudes towards welfare provision, fairness, and social justice have changed. It focuses on the policy areas that have been particularly affected in recent years and examines change and possible convergence across three public policy domains: family policy, pensions and policies aimed at social and labour market integration. The book covers both public provision as well as the role of company-based social protection. Based on new empirical survey research as well as focus group interviews, the contributions analyse the ways in which social policies have adapted to common and country-specific challenges, and provide an understanding of the changing welfare landscapes in the UK and Germany. 

Readership: Academics, researchers, postgraduates, and advanced undergraduates interested in social and public policy, welfare economics, labour markets, and pensions. Students of political science and european studies.

Table of Contents

1: Jochen Clasen: Introduction
Part I: Welfare Values
2: Christoph Burkhardt, Rose Martin, Steffen Mau and Peter Taylor-Gooby: Differing notions of social welfare? Britain and Germany Compared
3: Peter Taylor-Gooby and Rose Martin: Fairness and Social Provision: Qualitative Evidence from Germany and the UK
4: Christoph Burkhardt and Steffen Mau: Challenges of Ethnic Diversity: Results from a Qualitative Study
Part II: Welfare Policies
Part II A: Supporting Families
5: Mary Daly: Family Policy - Striving for Sustainability
6: Ann-Kathrin Jüttner, Sigrid Leitner and Anneli Rüling: Increasing Returns: The New Economy of Family Policy in Britain and Germany
7: Lisa Warth: Family-friendly Working Time Policy in Germany and the United Kingdom
8: Timo Fleckenstein and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser: Cross-national Perspectives on Firm-level Family Policies: Britain, Germany and the US Compared
Part II. B: Supporting Pensioners
9: Traute Meyer and Paul Bridgen: Towards German Liberalism and British Social Democracy: The Evolution of Two Public-occupational Pension Regimes from 1945 to 2009
10: Paul Bridgen and Traute Meyer: The Impact of the New Public and Private Pension Settlements in Britain and Germany on Citizen's Income in Old Age
11: Michaela Willert: Can Private Insurers Bridge the Savings Gap? Regulation and Performance of Personal Pensions in Great Britain and Germany
Part 11 C: Employment and Unemployment
12: Kathrin Leuze: Higher Education and Graduate Employment - The Importance of Occupational Specificity in Germany and Britain
13: Jochen Clasen: From Unemployment Protection to 'Work First'. Is German Labour Market Policy Becoming British?
14: Jochen Clasen, Steffen Mau, Traute Meyer and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser: Conclusion: Parallel Paths, Great Similarities, Prevailing Differences

About the Author

Edited by Jochen Clasen, Professor of Comparative Social Policy, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh

Jochen Clasen gained his Diploma in Sociology from the Free University of Berlin in 1988 and his PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from the University of Edinburgh in 1992. Prof. Clasen is an expert in cross-national research on social security and unemployment policy, and has particular expertise in social policy comparisons between Germany and the UK. He has published widely on methodological aspects of cross-national research and is joint editor of the Journal of European Social Policy. Recent books include Investigating Welfare State Change co-edited with Nico Siegel (Edward Elgar, 2007), and Reforming European Welfare States: Germany and the United Kingdom Compared (OUP, 2005).

Contributors: 
Paul Bridgen, University of Southampton
Christoph Burkhardt, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)
Jochen Clasen, University of Edinburgh
Mary Daly, Queen's University, Belfast
Timo Fleckenstein, London School of Economics and Political Science
Ann-Kathrin Jüttner, University of Göttingen
Sigrid Leitner, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne
Kathrin Leuze, Free University of Berlin
Rose Martin, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton
Traute Meyer, University of Southampton
Anneli Rüling, sociologist and political scientist in Berlin
Steffen Mau, University of Bremen
Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford
Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent
Lisa Warth, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Michaela Willert, Free University of Berlin

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