Written by one of the world's leading policy researchers, this book seeks to assess the threat posed to modern welfare states by globalization and demographic change. Bringing together empirical methods, current information from 21 advanced countries, and insights from across the social sciences, Castles distinguishes welfare crisis myths from welfare crisis realities, and presents likely trajectories of welfare state development in coming decades. The book will be essential reading for scholars from a broad range of disciplines, as well as policy-makers in many areas of government.
1. On Crises, Myths and Measurement ; 2. A Race to the Bottom? ; 3. The Structure of Social Provision ; 4. A European Welfare State Convergence? ; 5. Explaining Expenditure Outcomes ; 6. Population Ageing and the Public Purse ; 7. Birth-Rate Blues: A Real Crisis in the Making? ; 8. Towards a Steady-State Welfare State
...this is doubtlessly a prominent book, with significant policy implications stemming from the key factors and challenges it identifies, which are likely to shape advanced welfare states in different 'familes of nations'.