Bent Greve is Professor in Social Science with an emphasis on Welfare State Analysis at Roskilde University, Denmark. He is the regional and special issues editor of the journal Social Policy & Administration and has published extensively on social and labour market policy, social security, tax expenditures, public sector expenditures and financing of the welfare state.

• Editorial Introduction: Overview and Conclusion 1Bent Greve 1 To What Extent Did the Financial Crisis Intensify the Pressure to Reform the Welfare State? 7Barbara Vis, Kees van Kersbergen and Thomas H. Hylands2 Falling Back on Old Habits? A Comparison of the Social and Unemployment Crisis Reactive Policy Strategies in Germany, the UK and Sweden 23Heejung Chung and Stefan Thewissen3 The Impact of the Crisis on Australian Social Security Policy in Historical Perspective 41Peter Saunders and Chris Deeming4 US Social Policy in the 21st Century: The Difficulties of Comprehensive Social Reform 59Anne Daguerre5 Economic Crisis and Welfare Retrenchment: Comparing Irish Policy Responses in the 1970s and 1980s with the Present 79Fiona Dukelow6 Crisis and Welfare State Change in the Netherlands 101Mara Yerkes and Romke van der Veen7 Explaining Welfare Reforms in Italy between Economy and Politics: External Constraints and Endogenous Dynamics 117Franca Maino and Stefano Neri8 The Economic Crisis as a Trigger of Convergence? Short-time Work in Italy, Germany and Austria 137Stefano Sacchi, Federico Pancaldi and Claudia Arisi9 Health Care Policy for Better or for Worse? Examining NHS Reforms During Times of Economic Crisis versus Relative Stability 161Lorraine Frisina Doetter and Ralf GötzeIndex 179

Select Guide Rating