Comparative Social Policy Concepts, Theories and Methods

by Clasen, Jochen

• ISBN13: 9780631207740
• ISBN10: 0631207740
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-26
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Comparative Social Policy provides students with an introduction to cross-national social policy research, conveying the fascinating and challenging issues involved in conducting research of this kind. The book examines the theoretical, conceptual and methodological approaches, discusses prevailing concepts and reflects on methodological difficulties. The authors use examples from a wide range of social policy analysis to illustrate what can be gained by conducting comparative social policy research.The first part of the book provides a broad overview of the growing interest in comparative welfare state research and a discussion of major theoretical and methodological aspects relevant to comparative social research in general. Part II provides readers with an understanding of previous work in the subject, major approaches, important concepts and theories as well as methodological difficulties within comparative research in particular policy fields (health, housing, family policy, social care, social security, labour market policy).The final section addresses particular themes and issues across these fields and highlights the essential components of comparative social policy research, particularly the need to explore these issues carefully to gain awareness of subtle cross-national differences and thus avoid misleading results.The book includes differing country samples and sizes and takes examples from Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region. All the chapters reflect on relevant conceptual and methodological approaches, each is written for the student reader and concludes with a guide to further reading.

Author Biography

Jochen Clasen is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy in the Department of Applied Social Science, Stirling University. He has recently edited Social Insurance in Europe (1997) and co-authored (with A. Gould and J. Vincent) Voices Within and Without: Responses to long-term unemployment in Germany, Sweden and Britain (1998), both of which are published by The Polity Press.

Table of Contents

List of Tables

List of Contributors

Introduction

Welfare States and Comparative Social Policy:

Trends and Developments in Welfare States

Theories and Methods in Comparative Social Policy

Comparative Analyses in Selected Policy Fields:

Comparative Housing Policy

Institutions, States and Cultures: Health Policy and Politics in Europe

Comparing Family Policies in Europe

Full Circle: a Second Coming for Social Assistance?

Comparative Approaches to Long-term Care for Adults

Unemployment Compensation and Other Labour-Market Policies

Themes and Topics in Comparative Social Policy:

The 'Problem' of Lone Motherhood in Comparative Perspective

Inside Out: Migrants' Disentitlement to Social Security Benefits in the EU

Accumulated Disadvantage? Welfare State Provision and the Incomes of Older Women and Men in Britain, France and Germany

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.