Full Description
Originally published in 2005. The primary focus of this work is the relationship between family, work and the welfare system. Focusing on Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, the study draws comparisons between societies which represent different types of welfare mix between state, market and civil society. Three important issues in the transformation of the European welfare state systems are considered: The conditions for social citizenship in European welfare states and how they have changed in relation to family and work; Changes in the provision of social welfare and how they have affected the interrelationship between the welfare state, the market and civil society; The impacts of constraints on public expenditure and the financing of the welfare state. The authors discuss the question of whether the welfare states of these countries have profoundly changed over the last ten to fifteen years and examine how this might provide insights into the contemporary welfare state. The framework developed by the authors can be applied in other specific areas of the development and transformation of welfare states.
Contents
Contents: New models for the provision of social welfare and social citizenship in Europe: are recent changes perceived or real?; Welfare mix, welfare regimes, and families in Europe; A cross-national comparison of families and family policy in five Western European countries: methodological considerations; Comparative analysis of the societal background for family policy; Social citizenship, work and care; Family and welfare in Europe: changing welfare mixes?; Economic support and living conditions for families with children - from the families perspective; Welfare and solidarity in Europe: continuity or change?; Bibliography; Index.
