Welfare economics Books

Book SynopsisThis book contains a concise, simple, yet precise discussion of externalities, public goods and insurance. Rooted in the first fundamental theorem of welfare economics and in noncooperative equilibrium, it employs elementary calculus. The book presents established theory in novel ways, and offers the tools for the application of the social welfare criteria of efficiency and equity to environmental economics, networks, bargaining, political economy, and the pricing of public goods and public utilities.This innovative, user-friendly textbook will be of use over a broad range of disciplines. The applications found here include international global-warming issues (North vs. South model), and bargaining over externalities (Coase's theorem). This text also introduces the Wicksell-Lindahl model in its original form, which depicts the parliamentary negotiation between representative parties and provides an effective introduction to political economy. Later, these ideas are applied to the pricing of an excludable public good, revealing the theoretical connection between public utility pricing and the pricing of excludable public goods.The text integrates three forms of discourse: verbal, graphical, and formal. Elementary calculus is frequently used, allowing for clarity and precision; qualities that are often missing in conventional textbooks. The main text considers a finite number of consumers and appendices cover the continuum mathematical model, which is implicit in the references to the 'marginal consumer' found in traditional texts.The analysis found in Public Microeconomics is simple and operational, conducive to computationally easy examples and exercises. This textbook is ideally suited to graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses ineconomics, political science, policy and philosophy.Contents: Preface Foreword to Students 1. Introduction 2. Private Goods Without Externalities 3. Externalities 4. Public Goods 5. Public Utilities 6. Uncertainty and Asymmetrical Information IndexTable of ContentsContents: Preface Foreword to Students 1. Introduction 2. Private Goods Without Externalities 3. Externalities 4. Public Goods 5. Public Utilities 6. Uncertainty and Asymmetrical Information Index

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Book SynopsisThe Welfare State and Life Transitions uses the lens of key life stages to highlight changes in these transitions and in available resources for citizen support within nine European welfare states.This timely book reveals that new life courses are found to require more, and not less welfare support, but only Sweden has developed an active life course approach and only three more could be considered supportive, in at least some life stages. For the remainder, policies were at best limited or, in Italy?s case, passive. The contributors reveal that the neglect of changing needs is leading to greater reliance on the family and the labour market, just as these support structures are becoming more unpredictable and more unequal. They argue that alongside these new class inequalities, new forms of inter-generational inequality are also emerging, particularly in pension provision.This topical book will strongly appeal to academics and students interested in social policy, gender equality policy, pensions, industrial relations, labour economics, political science, and comparative welfare systems.Trade Review‘This book offers, in an extremely clear and easily read manner, knowledge about the state of welfare in large parts of Europe; how systems have been developed and shaped in the various countries to provide support in different life phases. The book is well suited for social science students in general, and for students of social work, sociology and economics in particular.’ -- Ann-Charlotte Ståhlberg, Journal of Social Policy‘The Welfare State and Life Transitions is a major contribution towards a new generation of research on welfare regimes. It reveals the complex and dynamic character of welfare systems and their varying implications for different social groups. Drawing together evidence from nine countries with contrasting welfare systems, it underlines the need for fine grained analysis of the impact of social policies at successive life course transitions for a rigorous evaluation of the quality of welfare protection. As well as providing a rich source of information about the nature and effects of the welfare regimes examined, it will help to set the research agenda of the future.’ -- Duncan Gallie, Nuffield College, Oxford and Foreign Secretary (and ex-officio Vice-President) British Academy, UK‘The Welfare State and Life Transitions presents a novel assessment of social policy in European countries. This collection of nine country studies neatly melds two distinct lines of social scientific inquiry: comparative welfare state scholarship and life-course research. Focusing on the interplay between structural and individual factors, this volume demonstrates that welfare states are not homogeneous entities; instead, they provide packages of policies that support some life transitions more than others.’ -- – Janet C. Gornick, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, US‘By focusing on passages from education to employment, between family formation and work, during work careers and from employment to retirement, the book succeeds in highlighting to what extent the various welfare state regimes manage to compensate social inequalities between and within cohorts. The editors do an admirable job of synthesizing the country reports by showing that linking the analysis of welfare regimes and life course patterns enriches our understanding of the shaping of female and male biographies in modern societies.’ -- Walter R. Heinz, University of Bremen, GermanyTable of ContentsContents: 1. Shaping the Life Course: A European Perspective Dominique Anxo, Gerhard Bosch and Jill Rubery 2. The UK Welfare State: More than Residual but Still Insufficient Jill Rubery 3. Towards an Active and Integrated Life Course Policy: The Swedish Experience Dominique Anxo 4. From the Breadwinner Model to ‘Bricolage’: Germany in Search of a New Life Course Model Gerhard Bosch and Andreas Jansen 5. Transitions in Female and Male Life Course: Changes and Continuities in Austria Ingrid Mairhuber 6. Life Course Transitions in Hungary Before and After the Societal Transformation Zsolt Spéder, Balázs Kapitány and László Neumann 7. From Selective Exclusion Towards Activation: A Life Course Perspective on the French Social Model Christine Erhel, Léa Lima and Chantal Nicole-Drancourt 8. ‘La Grande Illusion’: How Italy’s ‘American Dream’ Turned Sour Annamaria Simonazzi and Paola Villa 9. Life Stage Transitions and the Still-Critical Role of the Family in Greece Maria Karamessini 10. The Uncertain Path from the Mediterranean Welfare Model in Spain Fausto Miguélez and Albert Recio Index

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Book SynopsisIs neoclassical economics dead? Why have the biggest industrial economies stagnated since the financial crisis? Is the competitive threat from China a tired metaphor or a genuine danger to our standard of living? Lord David Sainsbury draws on his experience in business and government to assemble the evidence and comes to some startling conclusions. In Windows of Opportunity, he argues that economic growth comes not as a steady process, but as a series of jumps, based on investment in high value-added firms. Because these firms are engaged in winner-takes-all competition, rapid growth in one country can indeed come at the expense of growth in another, contrary to the standard models. He suggests a new theory of growth and development, with a role for government in 'picking winners' at the level of technologies and industries rather than individual firms. With the role of industrial policy at the centre of the Brexit debate, but a significant intellectual gap in setting out what that policy should be, this book could not be more timely.Trade ReviewOne way or another, [this government] is going to have big decisions to make about industrial policy in this new and very different world. This book should go on its reading list. -- Richard Lambert * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisAt a time when political leaders of the member nations are not acting to strengthen the multilateral trading system via the World Trade Organization, it is worthwhile to reflect on the WTO's contributions to global welfare since its inception more than 65 years ago. This volume assembles seminal empirical studies which estimate the past and prospective, national and global economic welfare impacts of GATT/WTO-induced multilateral trade liberalizations. It also touches on the effects of the Uruguay Round's TRIPS Agreement on intellectual property rights, and the benefits from WTO accessions and trade facilitation initiatives. In his authoritative introduction, Professor Anderson points to the numerous additional contributions of the WTO (and its predecessor, the GATT) which, though difficult to quantify, are nonetheless of great value and highlights those areas where further empirical research could shed more light on the net benefits of this important institution.Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction Kym Anderson PART I MEASURING PRICE DISTORTIONS DUE TO TRADE-RELATED POLICIES 1. Bela Balassa (1971), ‘Effective Protection: A Summary Appraisal’ 2. Kym Anderson (2010), ‘Kruger, Schiff and Valdés Revisited: Agricultural Price and Trade Policy Reform in Developing Countries since 1960’ 3. Hiau Looi Kee, Alessandro Nicita and Marcelo Olarreaga (2009), ‘Estimating Trade Restrictiveness Indices’ 4. Tony Warren and Christopher Findlay (2000), ‘Measuring Impediments to Trade in Services’ PART II WELFARE EFFECTS OF REDUCING PRICE AND TRADE DISTORTIONS PRE-DOHA 5. John B. Shoven and John Whalley (1992), ‘Global Trade Models’ 6. K. Anderson and R. Tyers (1993), ‘More on Welfare Gains to Developing Countries from Liberalizing World Food Trade’ 7. Joseph F. Francois, Bradley McDonald and Håkan Nordström (1996), ‘The Uruguay Round: A Numerically Based Qualitative Assessment’ PART III EFFECTS OF THE TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (TRIPS) AGREEMENT 8. Phillip McCalman (2001), ‘Reaping What You Sow: An Empirical Analysis of International Patent Harmonization 9. Shubham Chaudhuri, Pinelopi K. Goldberg and Panle Jia (2006), ‘Estimating the Effects of Global Patent Protection in Pharmaceuticals: A Case Study of Quinolones in India’, PART IV POTENTIAL WELFARE EFFECTS OF A DOHA ROUND AGREEMENT A Measurement Issues 10. Dominque van der Mensbrugghe (2006), ‘Estimating the Benefits of Trade Reform: Why Numbers Change’ 11. Joseph F. Francois and Will Martin (2010), ‘Ex Ante Assessment of the Welfare Impacts of Trade Reforms with Numerical Models’ 12. Edward J. Balistreri, Russell H. Hillberry and Thomas F. Rutherford (2011), ‘Structural Estimation and Solution of International Trade Models with Heterogeneous Firms’ B Global Economy-wide Model Estimates 13. Joseph Francois, Hans van Meijl and Frank van Tongeren (2005), ‘Trade Liberalization in the Doha Development Round’ 14. Kym Anderson, Will Martin and Dominique van der Mensbrugghe (2006), ‘Doha Merchandise Trade Reform: What Is at Stake for Developing Countries?’ 15. David Laborde, Will Martin and Dominique van der Mensbrugghe (2011), ‘Potential Real Income Effects of Doha Reforms’ 16. Kym Anderson and Signe Nelgen (2011), ‘What’s the Appropriate Agricultural Protection Counterfactual for Trade Analysis?’ 17. L. Alan Winters, Terrie L. Walmsley, Zhen Kun Wang and Roman Grynberg (2003), ‘Liberalising Temporary Movement of Natural Persons: An Agenda for the Development Round’ 18. Dominique van der Mensbrugghe (2009), ‘The Doha Development Agenda and Preference Erosion: Modeling the Impacts’ PART V HISTORICAL ECONOMETRIC ANALYSES OF IMPACTS OF WTO ON TRADE 19. Andrew K. Rose (2004), ‘Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade?’ 20. Arvind Subramanian and Shang-Jin Wei (2007), ‘The WTO Promotes Trade, Strongly but Unevenly’ 21. Michael Tomz, Judith L. Goldstein and Douglas Rivers (2007), ‘Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade? Comment’ 22. Andrew K. Rose (2007), ‘Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade? Reply’ 23. Jason H. Grant and Kathryn A. Boys (2012), ‘Agricultural Trade and the GATT/WTO: Does Membership Make a Difference?’ 24. Pao-Li Chang and Myoung-Jae Lee (2011), ‘The WTO Trade Effect’ PART VI BENEFITS FROM WTO ACCESSION 25. Zdenek Drabek and Marc Bacchetta (2004), ‘Tracing the Effects of WTO Accession on Policy-making in Sovereign States: Preliminary Lessons from the Recent Experience of Transition Countries’ 26. Elena Ianchovichina and Will Martin (2004), ‘Impacts of China’s Accession to the World Trade Organization’ 27. Thomas F. Rutherford and David G. Tarr (2008), ‘Poverty Effects of Russia’s WTO Accession: Modeling “Real” Households with Endogenous Productivity Effects’ 28. Man-Keung Tang and Shang-Jin Wei (2009), ‘The Value of Making Commitments Externally: Evidence from WTO Accessions’ 29. Kyle Bagwell and Robert W. Staiger (2011), ‘What Do Trade Negotiators Negotiate About? Empirical Evidence from the World Trade Organization’ PART VII BENEFITS FROM WTO-SPONSORED TRADE FACILITATION 30. Bernard Hoekman and Alessandro Nicita (2011), ‘Trade Policy, Trade Costs, and Developing Country Trade’ 31. J. Michael Finger (2008), ‘Trade Facilitation: The Role of a WTO Agreement’

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Book SynopsisThis collection brings together the key papers in the area of efficiency in law and economics. Alongside an original introduction, the collection covers the applications of economic efficiency to law and the limitations and morality of efficiency. This important book will appeal to anyone interested in the underlying welfare theory relating to the use of economics in law, examining both the history and impact of the theory, as well as its deficiencies.Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction The Development of Economic Efficiency in Law - Richard O. Zerbe Jr. PART I APPLICATIONS OF ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY TO LAW 1. Arnold C. Harberger (1971), ‘Three Basic Postulates for Applied Welfare Economics: An Interpretive Essay’ 2. Steven Shavell (1981), ‘A Note on Efficiency vs. Distributional Equity in Legal Rulemaking: Should Distributional Equity Matter Given Optimal Income Taxation?’ 3. Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell (1994), ‘Why the Legal System is Less Efficient than the Income Tax in Redistributing Income’ 4. Jonathan R. Macey and Maureen O’Hara (1999), ‘Regulating Exchanges and Alternative Trading Systems: A Law and Economics Perspective’ 5. Ugo Mattei (1994), ‘Efficiency in Legal Transplants: An Essay in Comparative Law and Economics’ 6. Alan Schwartz and Joel Watson (2004), ‘The Law and Economics of Costly Contracting’ PART II LIMITATIONS OF EFFICIENCY 7. Robert D. Cooter (1987), ‘Liberty, Efficiency, and Law’ 8. Homer Kripke (1985), ‘Law and Economics: Measuring the Economic Efficiency of Commercial Law in a Vacuum of Fact’ 9. Mario J. Rizzo (1979-1980), ‘The Mirage of Efficiency’ PART III UTILITARIANISM AND WEALTH MAXIMIZATION 10. Richard A. Posner (1979), ‘Utilitarianism, Economics, and Legal Thought’ 11. Anthony T. Kronman (1980), ‘Wealth Maximization as a Normative Principle’ 12. Richard A. Posner (1985), ‘Wealth Maximization Revisited’ PART IV MORALITY OF EFFICIENCY 13. Richard O. Zerbe, Jr. (2007), ‘The Legal Foundation of Cost-Benefit Analysis’ 14. Mark D. White (2006), ‘A Kantian Critique of Neoclassical Law and Economics’ 15. Russell Hardin (1992), ‘The Morality of Law and Economics’ 16. Richard O. Zerbe, Jr. (2006), ‘Justice and the Evolution of Common Law’ PART V OTHER CONCEPTS OF EFFICIENCY 17. John Rawls (1958), ‘Justice as Fairness’ 18. Amartya Sen (1993), ‘Capability and Well-Being’ 19. Guido Calabresi (1991), ‘The Pointlessness of Pareto: Carrying Coase Further’ 20. Jonathan Klick and Francesco Parisi (2004), ‘Wealth, Utility, and the Human Dimension’ 21. Richard O. Zerbe, Jr. (1998), ‘Response: An Integration of Equity and Efficiency’

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Book SynopsisPart of The Elgar Series on Central Banking and Monetary Policy, this book explores the relationship between central banking, monetary policy and income distribution. The usual central bank mandate – that of exclusively fighting inflation – is being increasingly questioned by policymakers and academics. Many countries are finding that there is a need for broader mandates that will have an impact on economic activity, unemployment and other economic issues.The chapters present a multitude of theoretical views on this topic, from classical and Marxist views to mainstream and post-Keynesian approaches. They consider the democratic aspects of central banking, critically assess the distributional outcomes of inflation targeting regimes and explore policymaking implications.Policy makers, academics and the financial press will appreciate the relevance of the material and state of the art discussions featured in Central Banking, Monetary Policy and Income Distribution.Trade Review‘Inequality in the distributions of income and wealth continues to rise. Meanwhile, since the global financial crisis, central bankers have become aware that in a monetary-production economy, there’s more to life than “fine tuning” an economy with reference to an inflation target. The time is therefore ripe for reinvigoration of research into the links between monetary policy and distribution. And with its clear focus throughout on the interest rate–income distribution nexus, this book delivers.’ -- Mark Setterfield, New School for Social Research, US‘This book is a very welcome addition to the literature on central banking. Behind all the talk about “inflation targeting”, “dual mandates”, and so forth, it is obvious that monetary policy directly affects income distribution. Maybe this is what it has been about all along? The Editors have invited an impressive list of well-known and emerging scholars who explore the link between monetary policy and income and wealth inequalities in the best tradition of Keynes and post-Keynesian economics.’ -- John Smithin, York University, Canada‘This book blazes new terrain on the role of monetary policy by focusing on its impact on income inequality.’ -- Steven Pressman, Monmouth University, USTable of ContentsContents: Introduction to Central Banking, Monetary Policy and Income Distribution 1 Sylvio Kappes, Louis-Philippe Rochon and Guillaume Vallet PART I THEORY 1 A primer on monetary policy and its effect on income distribution: a heterodox perspective 20 Louis-Philippe Rochon and Mario Seccareccia 2 Monetary policy and functional income distribution: a Marxist view 35 Marcelo Milan 3 Savings glut, secular stagnation, demographic reversal, and inequality: beyond conventional explanations of lower interest rates 57 Matías Vernengo 4 The evolution of monetary institutions and of the theory of money: the value of a monetary theory of production and distribution 81 Michel Betancourt, Santiago Capraro, Carlo Panico and Luis Daniel Torres-González 5 Monetary policy and the distribution of income in a transfer theory of debt 114 Jan Toporowski PART II EVIDENCE 6 Monetary policy and income distribution 128 James K. Galbraith 7 The rate of interest and income distribution: an examination of the Pasinetti index in Latin America 139 Noemi Levy-Orlik and Jorge Bustamante 8 Why central bank policy is not income-distribution ‘neutral’: history, theory and practice 164 Mario Seccareccia and Guillermo Matamoros Romero PART III POLICY 9 Advancing the monetary policy toolkit through outright transfers and tiered reserve remuneration 191 Sascha Bützer 10 On interest and interest-rate policy 242 Massimo Pivetti 11 The distributional impacts of inflation-targeting strategies 261 Sergio Rossi Index

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Book SynopsisSocial choice theory critically assesses and rationally designs economic mechanisms for improving human well-being. Kotaro Suzumura—one of the world’s foremost thinkers in social choice theory and welfare economics—fuses abstract ideas with real-world economies to examine foundational issues of normative economics and collective decision making.Trade ReviewKotaro Suzumura is one of the foremost leaders of thought in rational decisions and social choice as well as the economics of welfare. The reach of his work is breathtaking, and I cannot think of anything that can beat this collection for its reach and profundity in exploring some of the most foundational issues in decision making, investigated at the highest level of analytical sophistication. The work is an inspiration as well as an intellectual feast. -- Amartya Sen, Harvard UniversitySuzumura’s leading position as a scholar in the theory of individual and social choice, and in the understanding of the intellectual foundations of public choice, is assured. This book shows the arc of his development. It contains a deep comprehension of the issues involved, both in their technical aspects and in their philosophical foundations. -- Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford UniversityThe book collects the best of Kotaro Suzumura’s work on social choice and welfare economics, adding a long introduction about his influences and several essays on the history of social choice…The volume will serve as a useful collection of Suzumura’s work for social choice theorists and graduate students interested in the field, especially because it includes material that is otherwise hard to obtain. -- R. B. Emmett * Choice *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Few scholarly, well-researched books have been written on long-term private investing. Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner have undertaken a real public service in writing what will undoubtedly become the definitive book on the subject. My only regret in reading this book is that I did not write it."—David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group "You may not think your life depends on long-term investors, but it does—the health of your company's pension plan, your state or country's social security fund, indeed the very comfort of your retirement, depends on the success of long-term investing. In this very readable book, Ivashina and Lerner, two of the foremost experts on the subject, tell you what is going wrong, and how to set it right. It is a must-read for every anxious investor and every concerned taxpayer."—Raghuram Rajan, University of Chicago" 'The trees that are slowest to grow bear the best fruit,' Molière says. And that is why this lucid and refreshing account of how to overcome the barriers to long-term investment deserves the attention of pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments. After all, the potential fruits are not just quality returns, but significant benefits to society."—Dominique Senequier, President, Ardian"The antidote for short-term horizons in public markets is long-term investment in private markets. In Patient Capital, Ivashina and Lerner survey the private equity world, employing an engaging combination of captivating anecdotes and solid academic research. A must-read for all who care about the future of capitalism."—David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer, Yale University“This book provides a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the role that patient, long-term capital plays in the economy. Ivashina and Lerner do a wonderful job of combining clear and intuitive explanations with entertaining anecdotes that keep the reader’s attention and make it easier to understand the underlying ideas. At every point their in-depth knowledge shines through and makes for a very enjoyable read.”—Antoinette Schoar, MIT Sloan School of Management“Patient Capital is a compelling and thought-provoking book about an important but poorly understood aspect of finance—the role of long‐term investors in our capital markets. It will appeal to finance scholars; those who work for pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and the venture capital and private equity industries; and entrepreneurs who rely on them for financing.”—Jeffrey R. Brown, Dean of the University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business and Investment Committee Chair for TIAA

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Book SynopsisThe study of income inequality is of fundamental importance to economics, although it has been largely overlooked since the 1980s. This book provides a long-overdue review of the study of income inequality and of its importance both to the economic welfare of modern advanced economies and their social cohesion. This book both widens the traditional scope of the subject to include, for example, the long-run effects of globalisation on income inequality, but also integrates the various models models to provide a coherent and consistent analysis of this important issue.'- Eric J. Pentecost, Loughborough University, UKWith the increased interest in the role of inequality in modern economies, this timely and original book explores income distribution as an equilibrium phenomenon. Though globalization tends to destroy earlier equilibria within industrialized and developing countries, new equilibria are bound to emerge. The book aims at a better understanding of the forces that create these new equilibria in income distribution and examines the concept at three distinct levels: market equilibrium, bargaining equilibrium and political economy equilibrium. In particular, the author addresses the question of how the main factor markets of labour and capital are related to income distribution.Sell's theoretical and empirical analysis investigates global income quotas, the aggregate distribution of income between labour and capital, and between labour income earners and profit income earners. New models are used to explain the dynamics of income distribution during business cycles and as a companion to long-term economic growth. A main focus of the monograph is on the ways in which globalization affects income distribution via trade flows, capital flows and labor mobility. Throughout, income distribution is regarded as a result of the struggle between different social preferences such as inequity aversion and equity aversion.This erudite and extensive tome will be of value to all economists, scholars and students interested in economic growth and inequality.Trade Review‘The study of income inequality is of fundamental importance to economics, although it has been largely overlooked since the 1980s. This book provides a long-overdue review of the study of income inequality and of its importance both to the economic welfare of modern advanced economies and their social cohesion. This book both widens the traditional scope of the subject to include, for example, the long-run effects of globalisation on income inequality, but also integrates the various models models to provide a coherent and consistent analysis of this important issue.’ -- Eric J. Pentecost, Loughborough University, UK‘This thoroughly researched volume will contribute massively to our understanding of income distribution and of the highly complex roots of inequality, will generate more research on the many linkages that the author has found between different factors, and will generally be the point from which future research in the field sets out.’ -- Citizen’s Income‘Sell’s book provides a welcome addition to the recent array of books on inequality. It combines empirical discussion with a solid discussion of existing theory combined with original ideas on what might be driving inequality and how policy can affect it. I recommend this book be read by undergraduates interested in the topic as well as by more advanced researchers and practitioners alike.’ -- Journal of Economics / Zeitschrift für NationalökonomieTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Various Concepts of Equilibrium in Economics 3. Income Distribution and the Labour Market 4. Income Distribution and the Capital Market 5. Income Distribution and the Business Cycle 6. Income Distribution and Economic Growth 7. Factor Mobility and Income Distribution 8. International Trade and Income Distribution 9. Final Remarks Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSouth Korea is a recently rich country with dramatic demography - expensive children, very low fertility, long life and rapid population aging. Its policies and institutions must adjust rapidly to these new economic and demographic realities, and this excellent collection of studies of the welfare state in Korea, North America, and Europe will help guide Korean policy makers in this task.'- Ronald Lee, University of California, Berkeley, US'This book explores a highly topical issue which is of immense importance throughout the world, in both advanced and developing countries. While the demand for social policies has grown strongly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the fiscal space required for such policies has shrunk. On the basis of rigorous analysis and evidence, the authors of this path-breaking work provide concrete and specific directions for fiscally sustainable yet effective social policies that empower and protect the common citizen.'- Donghyun Park, Asian Development Bank, PhilippinesIn response to the global financial crisis, many OECD countries reduced public spending on social policies, with economists now often referring to 'permanent austerity'. Long before the crisis, however, slow economic growth and population aging had already increased the need for rebalancing social expenditure and yet social protection was still far from adequate in many countries. Social Policies in an Age of Austerity is the first major publication on this important topic.The authors of the ten chapters in this book review recent developments in social policies in OECD countries, focusing on the United States and the Republic of Korea, and examining the use of program evaluation in social policies and drawing lessons for policymakers. The contributions cover social and fiscal policy and issues in labor market policy, in addition to the effectiveness of social insurance, education and antipoverty policy.The policies outlined and lessons provided in the book will continue to be valuable to governments, and scholars of advanced and developing countries for decades to come, and to research institutes involved in government and social policy.Contributors: D. Autor, B.-G. Chun, W. Chung, H. Kim, Y. Koh, A.B. Krueger, S.-H. Lee, H.-H. Li, H. Moon, D.W. Schanzenbach, J.K. Scholz, H. Yoo, J.P. ZiliakTrade Review‘South Korea is a recently rich country with dramatic demography – expensive children, very low fertility, long life and rapid population aging. Its policies and institutions must adjust rapidly to these new economic and demographic realities, and this excellent collection of studies of the welfare state in Korea, North America, and Europe will help guide Korean policymakers in this task.’ -- Ronald Lee, University of California, Berkeley, US‘This book explores a highly topical issue which is of immense importance throughout the world, in both advanced and developing countries. While the demand for social policies has grown strongly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the fiscal space required for such policies has shrunk. On the basis of rigorous analysis and evidence, the authors of this path-breaking work provide concrete and specific directions for fiscally sustainable yet effective social policies that empower and protect the common citizen.’ -- Donghyun Park, Asian Development Bank, PhilippinesTable of ContentsContents: PART I SOCIAL AND FISCAL POLICY 1. Introduction and Overview John Karl Scholz, Hyungpyo Moon and Sang-Hyop Lee 2. Tax and Spend: The Interplay of Fiscal and Social Policy John Karl Scholz and Hsueh-Hsiang Li 3. The Social Safety Net in Korea: From Welfare to Workfare Youngsun Koh PART II ISSUES IN LABOR MARKET POLICY 4. Understanding Differences in Job Growth in Europe, Canada and the United States: What Went Wrong in the United States? Alan B. Krueger PART III SOCIAL INSURANCE AND POLICY EFFECTIVENESS 5. The Unsustainable Rise of the Disability Rolls in the United States: Causes, Consequences and Policy Options David H. Autor 6. Expanding Coverage of the National Pension in Korea: The Effectiveness of the Matching Contribution Subsidy Hyungpyo Moon PART IV EDUCATION POLICY EFFECTIVENESS 7. Current Themes in Education Policy in the United States Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach 8. After-school Classes in Korea: Effects on the Demand for Private Tutoring and Academic Performance Hisam Kim PART V ISSUES IN ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS 9. Recent Developments in Antipoverty Policies in the United States James P. Ziliak 10. Korea’s Basic Old-Age Pension and its Poverty Reduction Effects Wankyo Chung 11. Effects of Government Subsidies on Investment by Small Companies Bong Geul Chun and Hanwook Yoo Index

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Book SynopsisThe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are more than 12 million stateless people in the world. The existence of stateless populations challenges some central tenets of international law and contemporary human rights discourses, yet only a very small number of states have made measurable progress in helping individuals acquire or regain citizenship. This fascinating study examines positive developments in eight countries and pinpoints the benefits of citizenship now enjoyed by formerly stateless persons.The expert contributors present an original comparative study that draws upon legal and political analysis as well as empirical research (incorporating over 120 interviews conducted in eight countries), and features the documentary photography of Greg Constantine. The benefits of citizenship over statelessness are identified at both community and individual level, and include the fundamental right to enjoy a nationality, to obtain identification documents, to be represented politically, to access the formal labor market and to move about freely. Gaining or reacquiring citizenship helps eliminate isolation and solicits the empowerment of individuals, collectively and personally. Such changes are of considerable importance to the advancement of a human rights regime based on dignity and respect. This highly original and thought-provoking book will strongly appeal to a wide-ranging audience including academics, researchers, students, human rights activists and government officials with an interest in a diverse range of fields encompassing law, international studies, public policy, human rights and citizenship.Trade Review‘In our supposedly borderless world, having a nationality, and thus access to documents which permit travel and proof of identity, has become increasingly important. In many parts of the world, including the cases in Europe, Africa and Asia covered in this collection, large groups of people struggle with forms of de facto or de jure statelessness. In addition to providing a conceptual framework derived from international human rights norms for understanding better the phenomenon of statelessness, this collection presents important empirical research material helping us to understand, from the ground up, how statelessness is experienced.’ -- Jo Shaw, University of Edinburgh, UK‘What difference does citizenship make? The vulnerability of stateless persons clearly demonstrates the benefits of having a nationality. But so far nobody has examined how much the situation of stateless persons improves when they finally get documents and citizenship status. This exploratory study analyses practical difficulties and real progress in overcoming statelessness. It gives voice to the victims and sets a political agenda. Academic researchers, non-governmental organizations and policy-makers should read this book.’ -- Rainer Bauböck, European University Institute, Florence, Italy‘Embracing a subject that is generally treated abstractly, as a matter of human rights law, the authors of this pathbreaking book root statelessness deep into historical context and lived experience. They emerge with conclusions that are both dismaying (the expansive scope of the problem) and hopeful (the measurable progress some states have made in expanding the boundaries of citizenship). Alas, this eloquent book could hardly be more timely.’ -- Linda K. Kerber, University of Iowa, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Statelessness and the Deprivation of Nationality Brad K. Blitz and Maureen Lynch 2. Nationality and Rights Laura van Waas 3. Citizenship in Kenya: The Nubian Case Abraham Korir Sing’Oei 4. From Erased and Excluded to Active Participants in Slovenia Jelka Zorn 5. From Statelessness to Citizenship: Up-country Tamils in Sri Lanka P.P. Sivapragasam 6. Citizenship Reform and Challenges for the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine Rustem Ablyatifov 7. The Urdu-speakers of Bangladesh: An Unfinished Story of Enforcing Citizenship Rights Katherine Southwick 8. Mauritania: Citizenship Lost and Found Julia Harrington Reddy 9. Statelessness, Citizenship and Belonging in Estonia Raivo Vetik 10. Arabia’s Bidoon Abbas Shiblak 11. Summary and Conclusions Maureen Lynch and Brad K. Blitz 12. Epilogue James A. Goldston Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis concise Handbook examines welfare measurement problems in a dynamic economy, focusing on the welfare-economic foundations for social accounting.Trade Review‘In a world that is possibly threatened by catastrophic climate changes it is more important than ever to augment and modify current systems of national accounts so as to measure welfare in a dynamic context, i.e. move towards social accounting. This outstanding text written by leading names in the field covers all essential aspects of dynamic welfare theory and also goes beyond pure theory by providing discussion of how to go from theory to application.’ -- Per-Olov Johansson, Stockholm School of Economics, SwedenTable of ContentsContents: 1. An Introduction to the Theory of Social Accounting Thomas Aronsson and Karl-Gustaf Löfgren 2. The Money Metrics Problem in Dynamic Welfare Analysis Karl-Gustaf Löfgren 3. Welfare Measurement, Hyperbolic Discounting and Paternalism Kenneth Backlund and Tomas Sjögren 4. Dynamic Endogenous Risk and Social Accounting Ram Ranjan and Jason F. Shogren 5. Welfare Measurement and Public Goods in a Second-best Economy Thomas Aronsson 6. How are Green National Accounts Produced in Practice? Eva Samakovlis 7. The Theory of Dynamic Cost–Benefit Analysis: Some Recent Advances Chuan-Zhong Li 8. Some Dynamic Economic Consequences of the Climate-Sensitivity Inference Dilemma Martin L. Weitzman 9. Sustainable Consumption Programs John M. Hartwick 10. The Relationship Between Welfare Measures and Indicators of Sustainable Development Geir B. Asheim 11. Genuine Saving, Social Welfare and Rules for Sustainability Kirk Hamilton Index

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Book SynopsisThorstein Veblen was a multidisciplinary social scientist whose original insights continue to inspire debate. This interdisciplinary and comprehensive book determines that Veblen’s disparate theories of conspicuous consumption, imperial Germany, the giant corporation and the speculation-led cycle all add up to a consistent and coherent world-view.Trade ReviewReisman offers a brilliant distillation of Veblen's jaundiced purview of the social, psychological and pecuniary motivations that have driven man the social animal in his economic life down the ages, from noble savage to predatory barbarian in his ancient, modern, and potential guises. Avoiding hagiography, this book exposes Veblen's exaggerations as well as his compelling institutional insights into the evolution of capitalism and socialism. Reisman's own intellectual sweep in explaining and criticising Veblen demonstrate political economy at its best. - Roger Sandilands, University of Strathclyde, UK Veblen is a notoriously difficult economist to read and understand. He was, however, unequivocal in his scorn for neoclassical economics, whose demise he took pleasure in predicting. In light of the limp excuses offered by the economics profession for its failure to anticipate the current global financial crisis, Reisman's incisive analysis of Veblen's writings suggests that were Veblen alive today, he would be revelling in schadenfreude. This timely book will make uncomfortable reading for neoclassical economists. - Douglas Mair, Heriot-Watt University, UK Fascination with the economics of Thorstein Veblen is today no less than it was fifty years ago. Many books have been written about his life and ideas. But David Reisman breaks new ground by providing one of the best and most comprehensive explainations of Veblen's thought. Written in a strikingly fresh and lucid style, this work is one of the landmarks of the literature on this great and enduringly relevant economist. - Geoffrey M. Hodgson, University of Hertfordshire, UK Considering the inability of conventional economics to comprehend the socio-economic convulsions over the past few years in so many countries, it is surely time to try something else. David Reisman's The Social Economics of Thorstein Veblen thus appears at a most opportune moment. This original analytical study is the best introduction into Veblen's work that I know of, and will, I trust, encourage a renewal of interest in possibly the most unjustly neglected of economists. Reisman's primary contention that there is - despite obstacles to comprehension created by Veblen's personal idiosyncrasies and unconventional literary style - a Veblen structure of thought, or general system, is fully confirmed by the evidence presented in his book. In this demonstration lies its great merit. --- Samuel Hollander, University of Toronto, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Institutional Economics 3. Instincts and Endowments 4. Savages and Barbarians 5. Cumulative Causation 6. Consumption 7. Production 8. The Profit Motive 9. Corporation and Credit 10. The Age of Irrelevance 11. Socialism: The Intelligentsia and the Proletariat 12. Socialism: The Engineers 13. The Reversion to War 14. Perpetual Peace 15. Neoclassical Economics 16. Who Was Thorstein Veblen? References Index

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Book SynopsisThis book analyzes the impact of choice on welfare states in Europe and asks whether the shift towards more choice will ultimately benefit the users and providers of the welfare state, and have a positive impact on society as a whole. Explores the recent focus on choice in many welfare states, which has created a more market-orientated approach, changed users to consumers, and increased emphasis on private providers Examines the impact of these recent reforms on equality, not only from an economic perspective, but also in relation to gender, education, age, and access to services Draws on examples from different European countries and sectors of the welfare state, including the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the Czech Republic Informed by theoretical and empirical approaches, and uses a variety of methodologies Table of ContentsEditorial Introduction (Bent Greve, University of Roskilde, Denmark). 1. Can Choice in Welfare States Be Equitable? (Bent Greve, University of Roskilde, Denmark). 2. The Other Le Grand? Evaluating the ‘Other Invisible Hand’in Welfare Services in England (Ian Greener, University of Durham, UK and Martin Powell, University of Birmingham, UK). 3. Exit, Voice and Quality in the English Education Sector (Deborah Wilson, University of Bristol, UK). 4. When ‘Choice’ and ‘Choice’ Are not the Same: Institutional Frameworks of Choice in the German Welfare System (Florian Blank, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany). 5. Choosing Welfare or Losing Social Citizenship? Citizens’ Free Choice in Recent Italian Welfare State Reforms (Paolo R. Graziano, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy). 6. The ‘Consumer Principle’ in the Care of Elderly People: Free Choice and Actual Choice in the German Welfare State (Melanie Eichler, University of Hamburg, Germany and Birgit Pfau-Effinger, University of Hamburg, Germany). 7. A Comparative Discussion of the Gendered Implications of Cash-for-Care Schemes: Markets, Independence and Social Citizenship in Crisis? (Kirstein Rummery, University of Stirling, Scotland). 8. Challenging Solidarity? An Analysis of Exit Options in Social Policies (Menno Fenger, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands). 9. Freedom of Choice through the Promotion of Gender Equality (Steven Saxonberg, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic). Index.

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Book Synopsis`In a world that is possibly threatened by catastrophic climate changes it is more important than ever to augment and modify current systems of national accounts so as to measure welfare in a dynamic context, i.e. move towards social accounting. This outstanding text written by leading names in the field covers all essential aspects of dynamic welfare theory and also goes beyond pure theory by providing discussion of how to go from theory to application.' - Per-Olov Johansson, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden This concise Handbook examines welfare measurement problems in a dynamic economy, focusing on the welfare-economic foundations for social accounting. With environmental accounting becoming an increasingly important area of research, this timely Handbook assesses the ways in which the system of national accounts should be modified to accurately reflect the social value of economic activity, and how the comprehensive (or `green') net national product ought to be measured. It also addresses the principles for measuring welfare in a community at a given point in time, cost-benefit analysis for measuring welfare change and the principles for measuring sustainability, all of which have played important roles in the development of theories of social accounting. Covering a broad range of topics on environmental accounting such as endogenous risk and social accounting, money metrics welfare measures, public sector aspects of social accounting, dynamic cost-benefit analysis, and genuine saving, this unique Handbook will be a stimulating read for researchers and graduate students focusing on welfare economics and environmental economics.Trade Review‘In a world that is possibly threatened by catastrophic climate changes it is more important than ever to augment and modify current systems of national accounts so as to measure welfare in a dynamic context, i.e. move towards social accounting. This outstanding text written by leading names in the field covers all essential aspects of dynamic welfare theory and also goes beyond pure theory by providing discussion of how to go from theory to application.’ -- Per-Olov Johansson, Stockholm School of Economics, SwedenTable of ContentsContents: 1. An Introduction to the Theory of Social Accounting Thomas Aronsson and Karl-Gustaf Löfgren 2. The Money Metrics Problem in Dynamic Welfare Analysis Karl-Gustaf Löfgren 3. Welfare Measurement, Hyperbolic Discounting and Paternalism Kenneth Backlund and Tomas Sjögren 4. Dynamic Endogenous Risk and Social Accounting Ram Ranjan and Jason F. Shogren 5. Welfare Measurement and Public Goods in a Second-best Economy Thomas Aronsson 6. How are Green National Accounts Produced in Practice? Eva Samakovlis 7. The Theory of Dynamic Cost–Benefit Analysis: Some Recent Advances Chuan-Zhong Li 8. Some Dynamic Economic Consequences of the Climate-Sensitivity Inference Dilemma Martin L. Weitzman 9. Sustainable Consumption Programs John M. Hartwick 10. The Relationship Between Welfare Measures and Indicators of Sustainable Development Geir B. Asheim 11. Genuine Saving, Social Welfare and Rules for Sustainability Kirk Hamilton Index

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Book SynopsisThe Welfare State and Life Transitions uses the lens of key life stages to highlight changes in these transitions and in available resources for citizen support within nine European welfare states.This timely book reveals that new life courses are found to require more, and not less welfare support, but only Sweden has developed an active life course approach and only three more could be considered supportive, in at least some life stages. For the remainder, policies were at best limited or, in Italy?s case, passive. The contributors reveal that the neglect of changing needs is leading to greater reliance on the family and the labour market, just as these support structures are becoming more unpredictable and more unequal. They argue that alongside these new class inequalities, new forms of inter-generational inequality are also emerging, particularly in pension provision.This topical book will strongly appeal to academics and students interested in social policy, gender equality policy, pensions, industrial relations, labour economics, political science, and comparative welfare systems.Trade Review‘This book offers, in an extremely clear and easily read manner, knowledge about the state of welfare in large parts of Europe; how systems have been developed and shaped in the various countries to provide support in different life phases. The book is well suited for social science students in general, and for students of social work, sociology and economics in particular.’ -- Ann-Charlotte Ståhlberg, Journal of Social Policy‘The Welfare State and Life Transitions is a major contribution towards a new generation of research on welfare regimes. It reveals the complex and dynamic character of welfare systems and their varying implications for different social groups. Drawing together evidence from nine countries with contrasting welfare systems, it underlines the need for fine grained analysis of the impact of social policies at successive life course transitions for a rigorous evaluation of the quality of welfare protection. As well as providing a rich source of information about the nature and effects of the welfare regimes examined, it will help to set the research agenda of the future.’ -- Duncan Gallie, Nuffield College, Oxford and Foreign Secretary (and ex-officio Vice-President) British Academy, UK‘The Welfare State and Life Transitions presents a novel assessment of social policy in European countries. This collection of nine country studies neatly melds two distinct lines of social scientific inquiry: comparative welfare state scholarship and life-course research. Focusing on the interplay between structural and individual factors, this volume demonstrates that welfare states are not homogeneous entities; instead, they provide packages of policies that support some life transitions more than others.’ -- – Janet C. Gornick, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, US‘By focusing on passages from education to employment, between family formation and work, during work careers and from employment to retirement, the book succeeds in highlighting to what extent the various welfare state regimes manage to compensate social inequalities between and within cohorts. The editors do an admirable job of synthesizing the country reports by showing that linking the analysis of welfare regimes and life course patterns enriches our understanding of the shaping of female and male biographies in modern societies.’ -- Walter R. Heinz, University of Bremen, GermanyTable of ContentsContents: 1. Shaping the Life Course: A European Perspective Dominique Anxo, Gerhard Bosch and Jill Rubery 2. The UK Welfare State: More than Residual but Still Insufficient Jill Rubery 3. Towards an Active and Integrated Life Course Policy: The Swedish Experience Dominique Anxo 4. From the Breadwinner Model to ‘Bricolage’: Germany in Search of a New Life Course Model Gerhard Bosch and Andreas Jansen 5. Transitions in Female and Male Life Course: Changes and Continuities in Austria Ingrid Mairhuber 6. Life Course Transitions in Hungary Before and After the Societal Transformation Zsolt Spéder, Balázs Kapitány and László Neumann 7. From Selective Exclusion Towards Activation: A Life Course Perspective on the French Social Model Christine Erhel, Léa Lima and Chantal Nicole-Drancourt 8. ‘La Grande Illusion’: How Italy’s ‘American Dream’ Turned Sour Annamaria Simonazzi and Paola Villa 9. Life Stage Transitions and the Still-Critical Role of the Family in Greece Maria Karamessini 10. The Uncertain Path from the Mediterranean Welfare Model in Spain Fausto Miguélez and Albert Recio Index

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Book SynopsisIn recent decades the probability of divorce and separation among married and cohabiting couples has increased significantly in most European countries. Focusing on both economic and social aspects, this comprehensive volume explores the consequences of partnership dissolution at the individual level. The contributors use personal characteristics, properties of the partnerships and the institutional context to explain coping behaviours.The book comprises reports on eight countries, which have tentatively been classified as: 'the male breadwinner' (Belgium and Germany), 'the dual earner' (Denmark, Finland and Sweden), 'the market' (Great Britain) and 'the family' model (Spain and Greece). It also contains four cross-national comparative studies addressing the wider impacts of divorce, including labour force participation, residential mobility and housing, household income, and poverty and lifestyle deprivation. Complemented by the editors' authoritative introduction, this timely study will prove invaluable to graduate students and researchers interested in the economics and sociology of the family. Legal and public policy practitioners will also find the book an insightful addition to the current literature.Trade Review‘When Marriage Ends offers a comprehensive and insightful contribution to the study of economic effects of divorce and it also contributes to the comparative study of family policies and family law regimes in Europe. The book can be recommended not only to students and researchers interested in family studies but also to legal and public policy practitioners.' -- Jana Chaloupkova, Central European Journal of Public Policy'This is a double-faced book, which should be read by everybody who is concerned about the societal effects of divorce. It shows that divorce has negative economic and social consequences, not only in the Anglo-Saxon countries, but also in the most generous welfare states of Europe, where divorce is widely accepted. Moreover, these effects are more negative for women than for men, even in the most gender-equalitarian welfare state. But it also shows that social policies can mitigate these negative consequences.' -- Jaap Dronkers, European University Institute, ItalyTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: Economic and Social Consequences of Partnership Dissolution – What do we Know and What are we Looking For? Hans-Jürgen Andreß and Dina Hummelsheim PART I: THEORETICAL, METHODOLOGICAL AND MEASUREMENT ISSUES 1. Conceptualization and Measurements of Institutional Contexts: A Review Haya Stier PART II: SINGLE COUNTRY STUDIES 2. Germany: Will the Male Breadwinner Model Survive? Dina Hummelsheim 3. Belgium: Economic Hardship Despite Elaborate Childcare and Leave Time Programmes Dimitri Mortelmans, Laurent Snoeckx and Peter Raeymaeckers 4. New Holes in the Safety Net? Economic and Social Consequences of Divorce in Denmark M. Azhar Hussain and Olli Kangas 5. Divergences in the Nordic Model: Economic Consequences of Partnership Dissolution in Sweden and Finland Heikki Hiilamo 6. Great Britain: ‘Things Can Only Get Better…’ Wendy Sigle-Rushton 7. Marital Disruption in Spain: Class Selectivity and Deterioration of Economic Conditions Lluís Flaquer and Anna Garriga 8. Low Divorce Incidence in Greece: Facts and Figures Haris Symeonidou PART III: COMPARATIVE STUDIES 9. Female-Supportive Policies and Women’s Employment After Divorce Maike van Damme and Wilfred Uunk 10. Divorce and Housing: A European Comparison of the Housing Consequences of Divorce for Men and Women Caroline Dewilde 11. The Economic Consequences of Partnership Dissolution: A Comparative Analysis of Panel Studies from Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Sweden Hans-Jürgen Andreß, Barbara Borgloh, Miriam Bröckel, Marco Gießelmann and Dina Hummelsheim 12. Marital Disruption and Economic Well-being: Poverty, Income and Lifestyle Deprivation Arnstein Aassve, Gianni Betti, Stefano Mazzuco and Letizia Mencarini PART IV: CONCLUSION 13. When Marriage Ends: Results and Conclusions Hans-Jürgen Andreß and Dina Hummelsheim PART V: DATA APPENDIX Index

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Book SynopsisThis insightful book examines the meaning of, and impacts on, cash-for-care systems for mothers of small children. The contributors present a comprehensive overview of the major political and economic contradictions, theoretical debates concerning cash-for-care, and explore the possibility of implementing it into the social policy system. In social research, cash-for-care is often described as a reactionary benefit that operates against the women's interests. Economists, in turn, ask why the state should pay for reducing female employment and for care that is given anyway. Nevertheless, `woman-friendly' Nordic countries have introduced cash-for-childcare schemes and many parents are willing to use them. The book examines the payment schemes as a complex whole, where on the one hand the scheme responds to the parents' desires, but on the other, produces some questionable consequences. The authors highlight conditions in which cash-for-childcare schemes would not reflect any anachronism but instead will function as a useful tool of contemporary social policy.This unique book provides a broad theoretical and empirical view on cash-for-childcare. It will prove invaluable for academics of social work and policy. Politicians, social policy administrators and labour market researchers interested in family issues will also find this important resource an enriching read.Trade Review‘This work is one of the first attempts to offer a theoretical discussion of and empirical evidence for a relatively new social policy: CFC. The collection provides an insightful review of the historical and socio-political rationale for these policies within the Nordic context, state-specific and comparative analyses, and offers promising strategies to overcome the noted challenges. . . this work is an excellent resource for those interested in CFC policies specifically and among scholars and students of social and family policy, gender and labour studies, and social care more generally.’ -- Rebecca A. Matthew, International Journal of Social Welfare‘An excellent choice for social issue collections and reference shelves.’ -- The Midwest Book Review‘This book provides an excellent overview and evaluation of one of the most overlooked Nordic child care policies, the cash-for-childcare. Leading scholars in the field investigate and critically discuss the variation in the scheme across the Nordic countries as well as the importance of the development of cash for care options for the otherwise service dominated Nordic welfare state model. The book examines the cash-for-childcare in the perspective of gender equality, consumerism and freedom of choice for families, balance of work and family life and the right of the child to early education, and provides a much needed opportunity for understanding why the Nordic countries with otherwise high female labour force participation and easy access to day care have introduced the cash for care options.’ -- Tine Rostgaard, The Danish National Centre for Social Research, DenmarkTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Jorma Sipilä, Katja Repo and Tapio Rissanen 2. Cash vs Care: A Child and Family Policy Issue Sheila B. Kamerman and Shirley Gatenio Gabel 3. Cash-for-Childcare: Unnecessary Traditionalism or a Contemporary Necessity? Jorma Sipilä, Katja Repo, Tapio Rissanen and Niina Viitasalo 4. Finnish Child Home Care Allowance – Users’ Perspectives and Perceptions Katja Repo 5. Cash-for-Childcare Schemes in Sweden: History, Political Contradictions and Recent Developments Anita Nyberg 6. Cash-for-Care in Norway: Take-up, Impacts and Consequences for Mothers Marit Rønsen and Ragni Hege Kitterød 7. Rationalities of Cash-for-Childcare: The Nordic Case Minna Rantalaiho 8. The Paradox of Cash-for-Childcare: Are There Ways to Solve the Dilemma? Katja Repo, Jorma Sipilä, Tapio Rissanen and Niina Viitasalo Index

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Book SynopsisThis important book sheds light on the ways in which modern tools of welfare economics can be used to assess the benefits and costs of resource conflicts involving hydropower. The chapters highlight key methodological issues in this area; ranging from the intersection between cost benefit analysis and behavioral economics, to the value of load balancing services provided by hydropower. The inclusion of insights from expert contributors from both sides of the Atlantic brings a unique and interesting range of viewpoints to the work.Several factors suggest that resource conflicts involving moving water are likely to be even more difficult to resolve today than they have been in the past. The contributors, top scholars in resource economics, consider a variety of issues through the lens of cost benefit analysis. In the first part of the book, they address specific cases and issues from North America and Europe. The book closes with a more general look at the topic.Academics and students interested in applied welfare economics, especially cost benefit analysis and energy economics, along with government officials in the energy environment nexus and private sector analysts will all find much of interest and value in this volume.Contributors include: J. Duffield, F. Forsund, N. Hanley, L. Hjalmarsson, P.-O. Johansson, Y. Ju, B. Kristrom, J. Loomis, E.M. Moore, B. Ranneby, V.K. SmithTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Per-Olov Johansson and Bengt Kriström 2. Environmental Cost–Benefit Analysis and Water Quality Management Nick Hanley 3. Recreational Benefits of Removing Dams and Restoring Free-flowing Rivers: An Example Micro-Meta-Analysis of the Contingent Visitation Benefits of Removing Dams John Loomis 4. A Blueprint for a Cost–Benefit Analysis of a Water Use Conflict – Hydroelectricity versus Other Uses Per-Olov Johansson and Bengt Kriström 5. Estimation of WTP with Point and Self-selected Interval Responses Bo Ranneby and Jun Yu 6. Energy in a Bathtub: Electricity Trade between Countries with Different Generation Technologies Finn R. Førsund 7. Renewable Energy Expansion and the Value of Balance Regulation Power Finn R. Førsund and Lennart Hjalmarsson 8. The Political Economy of Hydropower and Fish in the Western US John W. Duffield 9. Does Behavioral Economics Have a Role in Cost–Benefit Analysis? V. Kerry Smith and Eric M. Moore Index

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Book SynopsisMultidimensional Inequalities is a deep dive into the historical contexts and contemporary realities that negatively influence society and its structures. It is often overlooked that inequality is not just about income and wealth but rather a broad spectrum of intersecting factors. This book focuses on each aspect individually, analysing its effect on welfare systems, and informs about the instruments available to reduce inequality. Table of ContentsPreliminary structure of the book (a short overview of the expected chapters) Introduction Theoretical understanding and measurement of equality/inequality - a number of issues - and not only in relation to money If one wants to discuss inequality, it is not only necessary to have normative justice considerations, where, moreover, there is often a greater consensus on when something is unjust than when a situation is equal. An overview will be given of key theoretical aspects in relation to understanding justice and inequality, as well as elements to be taken into account when inequality is to be assessed, including, for example, time horizons for measuring the degree of inequality. We will also discuss what type of inequality is being measured (for example, inequality in opportunity or resources, or whether it is inequality in measured welfare / resources. Finally, the chapter will present the most central ways inequality is measured while discussing why these are usable and why not other measurements tools that can be more precise are used in the analysis in the book. Core concepts will be defined. The chapter will also look into the issue of trickle-down economy, e.g. that if the rich becomes richer this is also the case for the poor. Equalities in opportunities – Sen’s perspective on justice and inequality Causes and explanations for inequality, for example, look at differences in the opportunities each individual has. Thus, the focus is on whether everyone basically has the same opportunities to achieve a number of things in life, including the ability to choose among a set of functioning’s. This chapter will, based on Sen's concept of capabilities, focus on whether and, if so, how such an understanding can help explain inequality. It also raises the debate that if two people have the same opportunities but use their opportunities differently and there will be ex-ante inequality then there is a societal problem. Economic inequality Central for analysis has in many years been the economic inequality between individuals and households, as well as over time. Inequality in income and wealth has been central, including not only the distribution measured more overall, but also, for example, the proportion of total income the 1% of the population are earning. The chapter provides a historical outline of developments in inequality, as well as a more detailed comparison of developments in a selection of European welfare states representing different regimes. This analysis will, to a limited extent, also include explanations, cf. chapters 10 and 11 instead. Gender inequality There has been, for some time now, a focus on gender equality, and it has been seen as more developed in the Nordic welfare states than in other types of welfare states. The chapter will present a number of indicators of inequality, but also the trends therein, as well as areas where the different gender have a better / worse position in society. This is probably illustrated by the fact that there has been a development towards greater equality, but at the same time that there are inequalities in a number of areas, for example in relation to pay and living in poverty, as well as in life-expectancy. Inequality in health care Where economic inequality is often to the disadvantage of women, the picture is different when looking at health inequality. The chapter describes through a selection of indicators the degree of health inequality in a number of welfare states. Although there are universal health systems in welfare states, there is a great difference between how long people live, what diseases they get and whether they have an experience of good health and could pay for medicine, for example. This also includes people’s own perception of whether they have a good health and differences in life-expectancy. Inequality in educational attainment The level of education is of great importance for a wide range of inequalities, which are highlighted in a number of the other chapters of the book. This chapter attempts to shed light on causes of education inequality. Here, not only must we look at basic education, but also at participation in continuing education, which, given the expected technological development, must be assumed to be increasingly important. A comparative overview of differences between countries in education inequality is also provided. Inequalities in employment and unemployment Labour markets are divided nationally as well as internationally. There are differences between who is part of the workforce and who is not, and there are differences in the risk of being unemployed. This includes variations between young and elderly, between different degrees of ethnicity. Different groups also have varying probabilities of becoming long-term unemployed. In addition, they differ in earnings in different parts of the labour market. The situation and possible causes for the development (globalization, new technology, etc.) will be included in the presentation. Ethnic inequality An ongoing discussion in recent years, partly also due to the issue of populism, has been the difference between native and non-natives position in societies. This chapter will show differences in a number of areas as indicator of that this is and has been a dimension one need to be aware of if one want’s to understand and explain the varieties in the level of inequality across countries. Democratic inequality The focus in this chapter is on who have the opportunity to make decisions about key societal issues and whether or not there is equal access to participate in societal decision-making. This is also linked to the populist discussion, which can be argued to be a type of explanation for why there are some who believe that there is an elite that decides and solely accepts their own ideas and interests. Contribute the welfare state to increase in inequality? Welfare states have been seen as a piggy-bank (Barr 2001), which allows the individual citizen to be protected against a number of social risks. This contributes to a greater degree of equality, as the individual does not have to secure against a number of social events. Thus, there is a discussion that welfare states can contribute to redistribution over a life course and between rich and poor. This redistribution can be achieved through the layout of the tax system, but also through the provision of a number of public services. These types of arguments are presented together with an analysis of whether and the degree of redistribution in various welfare states, including as far as possible development over time. The chapter will also look into the question whether everyone has the same opportunity to have consumption opportunities in a community. This obviously has a clear connection between the income and wealth of the individual person / household when looking at private consumption. But in addition, depending on the type of welfare state, there may be differences in access to public consumption, which may thus compensate for differences in access to private consumption. Finally, given the need for a welfare state also in relation to ensuring equality in access to, redistribution between rich and poor and over the life-time why do we still see such a large degree of differences among welfare states, and why no convergence seemingly is under way. What instruments are available to create a higher degree of inequality? Chapter 10 looked at whether welfare states contribute to a greater degree of equality. This chapter is followed up with a number of fundamental considerations and presentations of what instrument welfare states have if they wish to reduce inequality, including the advantages and disadvantages of choosing between different types of instruments. We look at how welfare states can be financed, as well as income transfers and public service activities. National and international possibilities This last chapter summarizes the analysis and production of inequality while focusing on both national and international opportunities to reduce inequality, including poverty. It is also proposed to include a broader perspective on the development of welfare states.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Gold Medal in Business Ethics, Axiom Business Book Awards"

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Book SynopsisFor some, Sweden is proof that a generous welfare state is fully compatible with a growing competitive economy. For others, it is a frightening example of what big government can do to a once thriving economy. Sweden and the Revival of the Capitalist Welfare State tackles a number of controversial questions regarding Sweden's economic and political development: How did Sweden become rich? How did Sweden become egalitarian? Why has Sweden since the early 90s grown faster than the US and most EU-countries despite its high taxes and generous welfare state?The author uses new research on institutions and economic reforms to explain the rise, the fall and the recent revival of the Swedish welfare state. The central argument is that a generous welfare state like that of Sweden can work well, provided that it is built on well-functioning capitalist institutions and economic openness. The book expertly explains how Sweden developed from a poor and highly unequal society to one of the richest and most egalitarian countries in the world by building a universal welfare state on a capitalist foundation. It also engages in an important discussion about the current and future challenges for the welfare state in general.The book will fit well in introductory and advanced courses on welfare state policy, social work, sociology, economic history, institutional economics and political science. In all these disciplines, the case of Sweden has always provoked interest and debate, due to Sweden's combination of prosperity, equality and extensive welfare state. The rapid pace of change in Sweden over the last 25 years, however, means that most other books are descriptively dated.Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Prosperity and equality: The golden years 1870-1970 3. The 'not quite so golden' years 1970 - 1995 4. The return of the capitalist welfare state 5. The capitalist welfare state's bloc-transcending history 6. The consequences of increasing competition 7. The resilience of labor market regulation and rent control 8. Challenges ahead: Can the capitalist welfare state survive? Appendices Bibliography IndexTrade Review'Sweden has a remarkable political culture that marries market liberalism and social democratic sensibilities. Bergh's fine book helps us get beyond a sense of paradox in that.' --Daniel Klein, George Mason UniversityTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Prosperity and equality: The golden years 1870-1970 3. The ‘not quite so golden’ years 1970 – 1995 4. The return of the capitalist welfare state 5. The capitalist welfare state’s bloc-transcending history 6. The consequences of increasing competition 7. The resilience of labor market regulation and rent control 8. Challenges ahead: Can the capitalist welfare state survive? Appendices Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe fast changing economic climate is creating substantial pressure for welfare state restructuring worldwide. Yet the discussion regarding challenges faced and the responses required has been confined to the 'standard welfare states' in the West. This book examines whether these challenges also apply to the countries in the East, whether these countries have generated different responses to their Western counterparts, and whether they have undergone a process of regime transformation while responding to these pressures.Comparative in approach, this book offers lively discussion on the new social challenges faced in East Asia following the unprecedented scale of the recent global financial crisis. It reaches beyond policy descriptions to offer more systematic analyses of welfare restructuring in the region in relation to the fast changing global economic order. By examining the dynamics of welfare state restructuring both in terms of continuity and change, it explores intensified impacts of global restructuring of welfare and the nature of welfare state adaptation in the region.This fascinating and thought provoking read will prove invaluable to academics, researchers and students with an interest in social policy, international social policy, comparative social policy.Contributors include: P. Abrahamson, N. Goishi, T. Hiroko, J. Hudson, G.-J. Hwang, D. Jung, S. Kuhner, S.S.-y. Lee, J. Liu, K.H. Mok, C.-u. Park, J. YamashitaTable of ContentsContents: 1. New Global Challenges and Welfare State Restructuring in East Asia: Continuity and Change Gyu-Jin Hwang 2. The Welfare Modelling Business Revisited: The Case of East Asian Welfare Regimes Peter Abrahamson 3. Analysing the Productive Dimensions of Welfare: Looking Beyond East Asia John Hudson and Stefan Kühner 4. Labour Market Risks in De-industrializing East Asian Economies: The Cases of Korea, Japan and Taiwan Sophia Seung-yoon Lee 5. Welfare–work Link in East Asia after the Economic Crisis: Korea and Japan since the 1990s Dongchul Jung and Chan-ung Park 6. Social Safety Net for the Working Poor in Japan, Korea and Taiwan Norimichi Goishi 7. Economic Restructuring and Changing Work/Family Life: The Cases of Japan and China Takeda Hiroko, Jieyu Liu and Junko Yamashita 8. Right Diagnosis and Appropriate Treatment for the Global Financial Crisis? Social Protection Measures and Social Policy Responses in East Asia Ka Ho Mok Index

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Book SynopsisPublished in association with the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), this book examines the four factors that challenge the fate of the European social model: globalization, monetary union, Eastern enlargement and digitalization. As a former EU Commissioner for Social Affairs, the author represents the rare combination of a top policy maker and a profoundly knowledgeable political economist. Andor’s book offers both first-rate analysis and imaginative ideas for the reforms needed to cope with these four factors. He leads us through the ’ups’ of post World War II policy design in the West and the vision of a post-communist regime in the Centre-East before going on to examine the EU-wide ’downs’ due to cultural neo-conservatism and the trajectory of EU macro governance. Having taken stock of some of the main threats to the social model, he goes on to highlight where common EU policy can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem - which was too often the case in the past.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook contains a rigorous exposition of the mathematical foundations of two of the most important topics in politics and economics: voting and apportionment, at the level of upper undergraduate and beginning graduate students. It stands out among comparable books by providing, in one volume, an extensive and mathematically rigorous treatment of these two topics.The text’s three chapters cover social choice, yes-no voting, and apportionment, respectively, and can be covered in any order, allowing teachers ample flexibility. Each chapter begins with an elementary introduction and several examples to motivate the concepts and to gradually lead to more advanced material. Landmark theorems are presented with detailed and streamlined proofs; those requiring more complex proofs, such as Arrow’s theorems on dictatorship, Gibbard’s theorem on oligarchy, and Gärdenfors’ theorem on manipulation, are broken down into propositions and lemmas in order to make them easier to grasp. Simple and intuitive notations are emphasized over non-standard, overly complicated symbols. Additionally, each chapter ends with exercises that vary from computational to “prove or disprove” types.The Mathematics of Voting and Apportionment will be particularly well-suited for a course in the mathematics of voting and apportionment for upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate students in economics, political science, or philosophy, or for an elective course for math majors. In addition, this book will be a suitable read for to any curious mathematician looking for an exposition to these unpublicized mathematical applications.No political science prerequisites are needed. Mathematical prerequisites (included in the book) are minimal: elementary concepts in combinatorics, graph theory, order relations, and the harmonic and geometric means. What is needed most is the level of maturity that enables the student to think logically, derive results from axioms and hypotheses, and intuitively grasp logical notions such as “contrapositive” and “counterexample.”Trade Review“The mathematics of voting and apportionment is a well-written, thorough introduction to social choice and social welfare theory. … This book is suitable as the main text for a one-semester introduction to voting theory and apportionment. I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in independently studying these topics. It is a clearly written, entry-level text into voting theory and apportionment.” (Brittany Shelton, Mathematical Reviews, February, 2020)“As intended audience the author mentions students in economics, political science, philosophy and (applied) mathematics, but I think the book is also to be recommended to law students … . I like to suggest to include this topic in a next edition of this admirable book.” (H. C. M. de Swart, zbMATH 1426.91001, 2020)“This is a nicely written book, with clear explanations that are supported by a number of useful, fully worked out, examples. … more appropriate audience would be math majors in a proof-based course who already have some experience in reading precisely stated definitions and statements of theorems, and a willingness to track through the details of a proof.” (Mark Hunacek, MAA Reviews, August 11, 2019)“This book, is a textbook that is clearly addressing an audience of social science students, in particular in the US … . It is not only a textbook for his students, but it brings together a lot of material that is not easily found in this compact form and as such it will be of interest to any politician or anyone who is generally interested in the subject.” (Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society, euro-math-soc.eu, July 01, 2019)Table of ContentsChapter 1: Social Choice.- Introduction.- Elimination Procedures.- Condorcet Ideas and Related Procedures.- Scoring Procedures: Borda Count.- A Glimpse into Social Welfare Theory.- Social Choice Procedures: Indifference and Ties Allowed.- Manipulability of Social Choice Procedures: Indifference and Ties Allowed.- Exercises.- Chapter 2: Yes-No Voting.- Introduction.- Quantification of Power in a Yes-No Voting System.- Some Combinatorics.- Banzhaf and Shapley-Shubik Indices in One View.- Weightable Yes-No Voting Systems.- Exercises.- Chapter 3: Apportionment.- Introduction.- Axioms of Apportionment.- Quota Procedures.- Divisor Procedures.- Equity Criteria.- Apportionment Paradoxes.- Applications of Priority Formulas.- Exercises.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook is Volume 1 of a two-volume set on the axiomatics of economic design. Its central argument is that economic institutions are not God-given: they are man-made. Their ultimate goal is to promote social welfare. The book describes the axiomatic approach to design. It consists in the formulation of criteria of desirability of solution mappings, and of the examination of their logical implications when imposed in various combinations. Its goal is to identify as precisely as possible the line that separates those combinations of desiderata that are compatible and those that are not. The end product of axiomatic work are menus of choices for practitioners to choose from when they have to make a decision.The first volume offers pedagogical coverage of the axiomatic approach to economic design, in the form of answers to questions posed by a young person curious about it. It introduces readers to what motivates economic design. It continues with the mathematical representation of a class of allocation problems. The bulk of the volume is to present structured inventories of the field of axioms, arranged by format first, and content next. These chapters are followed by a user's manual on the axiomatic method. Lastly, the volume discusses how economic design can be aided by other disciplines, in particular philosophy, mathematics, and computer science.Table of Contents​I Preliminaries: Introduction.- Abstract Social Choiuce Problems and Concrete Resource Allocation Problems.- Describing an Allocation Problem: a Checklist.- II Axiom Types: Axiom Format.- Axiom Content: Delineating Broad Categories.- Axiom Content: Punctual Requirements on Welfare Distribution.- Axiom Content: Solidarity Underlying Relational Requirements on Welfare Redistribution.- Axiom Content: Robustness to Choices of Perspective in Evaluating Changes.- Axiom Content: Robustness to Strategizing.- III Working with Axioms: Parameterizing Axioms, Operators on Spaces of Rules.- Characterizations and Impossibilities.- Conducting Axiomatic Work: a User's Guide.- Complements to the Axiomatic Method in Economic Design.- Appendix: Problem Types.- Index.

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Book SynopsisHard-hitting, troubling and full of fascinating data points, South vs North is an essential book about one of the biggest challenges that India faces today.

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Book SynopsisChildren born in south India have better chances of survival, education, and economic success compared to those born in the north. The book explores the reasons behind this disparity and the potential consequences for a centralized India.

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Book SynopsisFew government programs in the United States are as controversial as those designed to help the poor. From tax credits to medical assistance, the size and structure of the American safety net is an issue of constant debate. These two volumes update the earlier Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States with a discussion of the many changes in means-tested government programs and the results of new research over the past decade. While some programs that that experienced falling outlays in the years prior to the previous volume have remained at low levels of expenditure, many others have grown, including Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and subsidized housing programs. For each program, the contributors describe its origins and goals, summarize its history and current rules, and discuss recipients' characteristics and the types of benefits they receive. This is an invaluable reference for researchers and policy makers that f

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Book SynopsisFew government programs in the United States are as controversial as those designed to help the poor. From tax credits to medical assistance, the size and structure of the American safety net is an issue of constant debate. These two volumes update the earlier Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States with a discussion of the many changes in means-tested government programs and the results of new research over the past decade. While some programs that that experienced falling outlays in the years prior to the previous volume have remained at low levels of expenditure, many others have grown, including Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and subsidized housing programs. For each program, the contributors describe its origins and goals, summarize its history and current rules, and discuss recipients' characteristics and the types of benefits they receive. This is an invaluable reference for researchers and policy makers that f

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Book SynopsisAlthough it was an important specialization in economics in the mid-twentieth century, welfare economics has received less attention in the twenty-first century. This book explores the history of welfare economics, with a view to explaining its rise and subsequent decline.Drawing on both philosophy and economics, this book offers a new and original perspective on the history of welfare economics, starting with Pigou and charting the trajectory of applied and theoretical welfare economics throughout the twentieth century.This book will be of interest to students and researchers of philosophy, economics and history of economic thought.Table of Contents1. Objective and Scope of the Work2. Utilitarianism for Pigou’s Welfare Economics3. Pigou and the Economics of Welfare4. The New Welfare Economics5. The Success and Failure of the New Welfare Economics6. Alternatives to Welfare Economics7. Utilitarian Persisters 8. Is There a Way Forward? Should There Be?

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Book SynopsisAusterity has become the new principle for public policy in Europe and the US as the financial crisis of 2008 has been converted into a public debt crisis. However, current austerity measures risk losing past progress towards gender equality by undermining important employment and social welfare protections and putting gender equality policy onto the back burner. This volume constitutes the first attempt to identify how the economic crisis and the subsequent austerity policies are affecting women in Europe and the US, tracing the consequences for gender equality in employment and welfare systems in nine case studies from countries facing the most severe adjustment problems.The contributions adopt a common framework to analyse women in recession, which takes into account changes in women's position and current austerity conditions. The findings demonstrate that in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, employment gaps between women and men declined but due only to aTrade Review"This work for academics, researchers, and policy makers gathers papers from two international symposia on 'Women, Gender Equality and Economic Crisis,' held in Athens in 2011 and Reykjavik in 2012. The papers look at how austerity measures negatively impact gender equality by removing funding for employment and social welfare programs. Part 1 introduces an analytical framework for examining women's vulnerability to recession and austerity measures. Part 2 presents nine country case studies, including the US, the UK, Ireland, Hungary, and Portugal. Part 3 recommends policy changes." - Book NewsTable of ContentsPart I 1. Introduction: Women’s vulnerability to recession and austerity Maria Karamessini 2. From ‘Women and Recession’ to ‘Women and Austerity: A framework for analysis Jill Rubery 3. Challenging the Balkanization of Gender Contracts Jacqueline O’Reilly and Tiziana Nazio Part II 4. Women and Men in the ‘Great European Recession’ Francesca Bettio and Alina Verashchagina 5. Gender Impacts of the ‘Great Recession’ in the United States Randy Albelda 6. Iceland in Crisis: Gender equality and social equity Thora Kristin Thorsdóttir 7. Gender, Recession and Austerity in the UK Jill Rubery and Anthony Rafferty 8. The Labour Market Impact of the Economic Crisis in Hungary through the Lens of Gender Equality Mária Frey 9. Structural Crisis and Adjustment in Greece: Social regression and the challenge to gender equality Maria Karamessini 10. Ireland in Crisis 2008-2012: Women, austerity and inequality Ursula Barry and Pauline Conroy 11. Employment and Austerity: Changing welfare and gender regimes in Portugal Virgínia Ferreira 12. Women, Gender Equality and the Economic Crisis in Spain Elvira González Gago and Marcelo Segales Kirzner 13. Living through the Crisis in Italy: The labour market experience of men and women Alina Verashchagina and Marina Capparucci Part III 14. Policy in the Time of Crisis: Employment policy and gender equality in Europe Paola Villa and Mark Smith 15. Gender, Inequality and the Crisis: Towards more equitable development Diane Perrons and Ania Plomien 16. Economic Crisis and Austerity: Challenges to gender equality Maria Karamessini and Jill Rubery

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Book SynopsisAusterity has become the new principle for public policy in Europe and the US as the financial crisis of 2008 has been converted into a public debt crisis. However, current austerity measures risk losing past progress towards gender equality by undermining important employment and social welfare protections and putting gender equality policy onto the back burner. This volume constitutes the first attempt to identify how the economic crisis and the subsequent austerity policies are affecting women in Europe and the US, tracing the consequences for gender equality in employment and welfare systems in nine case studies from countries facing the most severe adjustment problems.The contributions adopt a common framework to analyse women in recession, which takes into account changes in women's position and current austerity conditions. The findings demonstrate that in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, employment gaps between women and men declined but due only to aTrade Review"This work for academics, researchers, and policy makers gathers papers from two international symposia on 'Women, Gender Equality and Economic Crisis,' held in Athens in 2011 and Reykjavik in 2012. The papers look at how austerity measures negatively impact gender equality by removing funding for employment and social welfare programs. Part 1 introduces an analytical framework for examining women's vulnerability to recession and austerity measures. Part 2 presents nine country case studies, including the US, the UK, Ireland, Hungary, and Portugal. Part 3 recommends policy changes." - Book NewsTable of ContentsPart I 1. Introduction: Women’s vulnerability to recession and austerity Maria Karamessini 2. From ‘Women and Recession’ to ‘Women and Austerity: A framework for analysis Jill Rubery 3. Challenging the Balkanization of Gender Contracts Jacqueline O’Reilly and Tiziana Nazio Part II 4. Women and Men in the ‘Great European Recession’ Francesca Bettio and Alina Verashchagina 5. Gender Impacts of the ‘Great Recession’ in the United States Randy Albelda 6. Iceland in Crisis: Gender equality and social equity Thora Kristin Thorsdóttir 7. Gender, Recession and Austerity in the UK Jill Rubery and Anthony Rafferty 8. The Labour Market Impact of the Economic Crisis in Hungary through the Lens of Gender Equality Mária Frey 9. Structural Crisis and Adjustment in Greece: Social regression and the challenge to gender equality Maria Karamessini 10. Ireland in Crisis 2008-2012: Women, austerity and inequality Ursula Barry and Pauline Conroy 11. Employment and Austerity: Changing welfare and gender regimes in Portugal Virgínia Ferreira 12. Women, Gender Equality and the Economic Crisis in Spain Elvira González Gago and Marcelo Segales Kirzner 13. Living through the Crisis in Italy: The labour market experience of men and women Alina Verashchagina and Marina Capparucci Part III 14. Policy in the Time of Crisis: Employment policy and gender equality in Europe Paola Villa and Mark Smith 15. Gender, Inequality and the Crisis: Towards more equitable development Diane Perrons and Ania Plomien 16. Economic Crisis and Austerity: Challenges to gender equality Maria Karamessini and Jill Rubery

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Book SynopsisThis edited volume provides a synthesis on the question of business attitudes towards and its influence over the development of the modern welfare state. It gathers leading scholars in the field to offer both in-depth historical country case studies and comparative chapters that discuss contemporary developments.Composed of six archive-based historical narratives of business' role in the development of social insurance programs in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and six comparative case studies, this volume also extends the study of business to policy fields that have hitherto received little attention in the literature, such as active labor market policies, educational policies, employment protection legislation, healthcare, private pension programs and work-family policies. It illuminates why business groups have responded so very differently to demands for increased social protection against different labor market rTable of Contents1. Analyzing the role of business in welfare state development Part I: Country Studies 2. Business interests and the development of the Bismarckian welfare state 3. Explaining employer support for welfare state development in the Netherlands 4. Business interests and the development of the public-private welfare mix in Switzerland, 1880-1990 5. British employers and the development of state protection for unemployment, sickness and old age, 1900-1990 6. Private or public? Employer attitudes and strategies towards welfare reform in Finland 7. Misrepresented interests: Business, Medicare, and the making of the American health care state Part II: Cross-country comparisons and recent challenges 8. Who controls the workplace? Business and the regulation of job security in Western Europe 9. Employer organizations and the evolution of active labor market policy in Sweden and the United States 10. The business of change: Employers and work-family policy reforms 11. The financial politics of occupational pensions: A business interest's perspective 12. Industrial coordination and vocational training in the postindustrial age 13. Pension privatization as a boon to stock market development? Financial ideas, reform complementarities and the divergent fates of Hungary’s and Poland’s pension fund industries 14. Conclusion: The business of studying business

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Book SynopsisIncreasingly flexible labour markets and reforms of old-age pension systems are still ranking high on the political agenda of European countries. This volume investigates whether, and to what extent, the interplay between pension reforms and the spread of ''atypical'' employment patterns and fragmented careers has a negative influence uponeconomic security in old age. The volume, therefore, analyzes the flexibility-security nexus by focusing on the post-retirement phase, thus extending the conventional narrow concept of ''flexicurity''. The book also questions whetherreforms of public and private pension schemes compensate or aggravate the risks of increasingly flexible labor markets and atypical employment careers after retirement? Around this overarching research question, the various contributions in the volume employ the same analytical framework in order to map, and then compare, the developments in seven European countries - Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, SwitzTrade Review'...a well researched, well edited, and clearly written book, and anyone with anything to do with pensions policy should be reading it.' - Citizen's Income TrustTable of ContentsList of illustrations Notes on Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements RECWOWE Book Series: Work and Welfare in Europe Funding Labour Market Flexibility and Pension Reforms: What Prospects for Old-Age Security?; K.Hinrichs & M.Jessoula Germany: A Flexible Labor Market plus Pension Reforms Makes Old-Age Poverty; K.Hinrichs The Italian Risky Combination: 'Selective Flexibility' and Defined-Contributions Pensions; M.Jessoula Poland: Are Flexible Labour Markets Ready for Individualized Pensions?; I.Guardiancich Lessons from the UK: When Multi-Pillar Pension Systems Meet Flexible Labour Markets; D.Natali Switzerland: Building a Multipillar Pension System for a Flexible Labour Market; S.Häusermann & H.Schwander The Danish Flexicurity Model and Old Age Protection; N.Ploug The Netherlands: Reconciling Labour Market Flexicurity with Security in Old Age; K.Anderson Flexible Today, Secure Tomorrow?; M.Jessoula & K.Hinrichs Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAt a time when austerity is claimed by some to be the only answer to today’s economic woes, a close look at the best practices used in Scandinavia is edifying. Decision makers everywhere dispose of ample evidence showing that social determinants have an impact on health and wellbeing. Yet governments develop policies that diverge enormously. Scandinavian countries are often cited as models for their egalitarian social and health policies but are also known to have thriving economies where the gap dividing rich from poor is smaller than elsewhere. Despite quasi mythic status, these policies aimed to combat inequalities in health are neither well known or understood. Policies discussed in Scandinavian Common Sense include education, housing, conciliation of work and family life, daycare, sustainable development and more. For these policies to be part of political debate, be it in Quebec, Canada, the United States or elsewhere, they must be in the public domain. That is the purpose of this book.

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Book SynopsisIn his famous report of 1942, the economist and social reformer William Beveridgewrote that the war was a 'revolutionary moment in the world's history' and so a time 'forrevolutions, not for patching.' The Beveridge Report outlined the welfare state that Attlee'sgovernment would go on to implement after 1946, instituting, for the first time, a nationalsystem of benefits to protect all from 'cradle to the grave.' Since then the welfare system hasbeen patched, beset by muddled thinking and short-termism. The government spends overGBP171bn a year on welfare and yet, since the Beveridge Report, there has been no strategicreview of the system. Compare that to Defence which, with its comparatively small budgetof GBP35bn, is subject to a strategic review at least every decade. Reform of the welfare systemneed not mean dismantlement, but serious questions must be asked about how a welfarestate as we understand it remains sustainable into the 21st century.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the future of the global population and proposes revising Malthus’ Law. The United Nations estimates that the global population will top 11 billion by 2100, at which point its growth will be near an end: it will find a new ‎equilibrium in a long demographic transition from high birth and death rates to low ones. However, the author reviews the fertility developments reported in the World Population Prospects 2017, which are near or below the replacement level in most regions, with the important exception of Sub-Saharan Africa, and warns of a possible scenario of the extinction of human society. Returning to Malthus, his Essay on the Principle of Population is critically reconsidered. Simple simulations show that exponential growth and decay are unsustainable beyond the narrow ranges of the net reproduction rate. In addition, the length of reproduction periods, which depends on women’s lifespans, plays a pivotal role. The limits of growth are given in any case, to the extent that time and space will permit.From this perspective, teleological conditions such as instinct, passion, or even natural reproductive tendencies are irrelevant and unnecessary. When the population deviates too far from the replacement level, either its shrinking or massive growth will overshoot the limits of its existence. This principle of sustainable population indicates that the demographic transition must follow a logistic curve. Using a system dynamics approach, the author constructs a simulation model based on four major loops: fertility, reproduction timing, social capital accumulation, and lifespan. Using only endogenous variables, this model successfully reproduces the historical process of the demographic transition in Japan. Thereby, it shows that the timing and periods of reproduction, maximum fertility, and maximum lifespan hold the key to sustainability. Based on these findings, the author subsequently discusses recovering replacement fertility, extending lifespans, and the demographic future of the human race. Table of Contents1. Introduction：The Sustainability of World Population.- 2. The Principle of Sustainable Population.- 3. Designing the Demographic Transition Model.- 4. Simulating the Demographic Transition.- 5 Thinking about the Demographic Future of Human Society.- 6. Epilogue：‎Beyond the Demographic Consideration.- References.- List of Tables and Figures.

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