Culture and Welfare State Values and Social Policy in Comparative Perspective

Culture and Welfare State provides comparative studies on the interplay between cultural factors and welfare policies. Starting with an analysis of the historical and cultural foundations of Western European welfare states, reflected in the competing ideologies of liberalism, conservatism and socialism, the book goes on to compare the Western European welfare model to those in North America, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. Comprehensive and engaging, this volume examines not only the relationships between cultural change and welfare restructuring, taking empirical evidence from policy reforms in contemporary Europe, but also the popular legitimacy of welfare, focusing particularly on the underlying values, beliefs and attitudes of people in European countries.

This book will be of great interest to sociologists and political scientists, as well as social policy experts interested in a cultural perspective on the welfare state.

Edited by Wim van Oorschot, Professor of Social Policy, University of Leuven, Belgium, Michael Opielka, Institute for Social Ecology and Birgit Pfau-Effinger, Professor of Sociology, University of Hamburg, Germany