Description
Book SynopsisGovernance is now a major topic in political science. To date, analysts of governance have paid scant attention to social policy or welfare state reform. In this book, the concept of governance is used to analyse the outgoing variety of the welfare mix as well as shifting responsibilities and modes of interaction.
This unique and path-breaking work analyses the governance of welfare state reform in the areas of health, pensions, labour market and education policy. The authors compare both the different processes of reform (politics) and the change of policies in different welfare state regimes. They question if the change of regulatory structures results in growing convergence or ongoing divergence of welfare states.
Governance of Welfare State Reform will be essential reading for researchers and students interested in social policy and governance studies. Political scientists, sociologists and social policymakers will also find this book an invaluable read.
Trade Review'A timely and empirically grounded contribution to the literature on welfare governance. Examining internationalisation, regionalisation, privatisation and re-regulation, the case study chapters open up important questions about converging and diverging governance practices.' -- Janet Newman, The Open University, UK
Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Governance and Comparative Welfare State Research Irene Dingeldey and Heinz Rothgang PART I: CHANGES OF POLICY AND REGULATORY STRUCTURES 2. Converging Governance in Healthcare Systems? Heinz Rothgang 3. Vanishing Variety? The Regulation of Funded Pension Schemes in Comparative Perspective Thorsten Hippe 4. Changing Forms of Governance as Welfare State Restructuring: Activating Labour Market Policies in Denmark, the UK and Germany Irene Dingeldey 5. International Organisations as Governance Actors: The OECD in Education Policy Kerstin Martens and Anja P. Jakobi 6. Are Welfare States Converging? Recent Social Policy Developments in Advanced OECD Countries Peter Starke and Herbert Obinger PART II: THE POLITICS OF WELFARE STATE REFORM 7. Competitive Transformation and the State Regulation of Health Insurance Systems: Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands Compared Thomas Gerlinger 8. Pension Politics in the 21st Century: From Class Conflict to Modernising Compromise? Giuliano Bonoli 9. Ideas and the Politics of Labour Market Reform Robert Henry Cox 10. Agenda Setting and Political Institutions in Education Policy: A Cross Country Comparison Michael Baggesen Klitgaard 11. Conclusion: The Governance of Welfare State Reform Heinz Rothgang and Irene Dingeldey Index
