The Welfare State Reader - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745663699 ISBN 13: 9780745663692

Publisher: Polity, 2013

Synopsis

The Welfare State Reader has established itself as a vital source of outstanding original research since its original appearance in 2000. In the third edition, Pierson, Castles and Naumann have comprehensively overhauled the content, bringing it wholly up to date with contemporary discussions about this most crucial area of social and political life.

The book includes seventeen new selections, all reflecting the latest thinking and research in welfare state studies. These readings are organized around contemporary debates, such as the current trajectories of, constraints on and challenges to contemporary welfare regimes, as well as evolving ideas and emergent forms that constitute the future of welfare. In particular, new readings focus on issues such as ageing populations and low fertility, climate change and global financial uncertainty, and nascent 'politics of happiness'. As in previous editions, the volume begins with a collection of readings that provide a grounding in core approaches to welfare, and each section is set in context by a new editorial introduction.

As well as bringing together classic debates, The Welfare State Reader represents an invaluable guide to what is happening at the cutting edge of welfare research, giving the reader an unrivalled overview of debates surrounding the welfare state.

About this title

About the Author:

Christopher Pierson is professor of politics at the University of Nottingham, UK, and lead editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relations. He is author of Beyond the Welfare State? 3rd edition (Polity, 2006).

Francis G. Castles is professor emeritus of social and public policy at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Ingela K. Naumann is lecturer in social policy at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Review:

''As with previous editions, this Third Edition of The Welfare State Reader is a must for every student of the welfare state, whether approaching the topic through the lens of political science, sociology or social policy.''
Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, University of Oxford

''The earlier versions of this book were so good that I could not imagine how to improve upon them. But Pierson, Castles and Naumann have proved me wrong. The value of this, the third edition, has been enhanced tremendously by its strong reorientation towards the dilemmas and difficulties that contemporary welfare states face. This book will surely remain the cornerstone reading in any respectable social policy course worldwide.''
Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Pompeu Fabra University

About this edition

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0745663699
• ISBN 13: 9780745663692
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 504
• Editor: Pierson Christopher, Castles Francis G., Naumann Ingela K.