The Welfare State as Crisis Manager. Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis.

This book presents an in-depth analysis of social policy reactions to international economic shocks in four different welfare states, over a 40-year period. It reveals how expansion and retrenchment are shaped by domestic politics and existing welfare state institutions.

Peter Starke is a Political Scientist at the University of Bremen, Germany. Recent publications include Radical Welfare State Retrenchment: A Comparative Analysis.

Alexandra Kaasch is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Sheffield, UK. Previously she held a post-doctoral research position at the University of Bremen, Germany.

Franca van Hooren is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in Comparative Social Policy at the University of Bremen, Germany. She obtained her PhD from the European University Institute, Italy.