Converging Worlds of Welfare? British and German Social Policy in the 21st Century

by Clasen, Jochen

• ISBN13: 9780199584499
• ISBN10: 0199584494
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book takes stock of major and recent developments in welfare policy in the UK and Germany. Concentrating on trends since the 1990s it compares the similarities and differences between the two countries and analyses the degree to which social attitudes towards welfare provision, fairness, and social justice have changed. It focuses on the policy areas that have been particularly affected in recent years and examines change and possible convergence across three public policydomains: family policy, pensions and policies aimed at social and labour market integration. The book covers both public provision as well as the role of company-based social protection. Based on new empirical survey research as well as focus group interviews, the contributions analyse the ways in whichsocial policies have adapted to common and country-specific challenges, and provide an understanding of the changing welfare landscapes in the UK and Germany.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xi
List of Tables	p. xiii
Notes on Contributors	p. xvi
Introduction	p. 1
Welfare Values
Differing notions of social welfare? Britain and Germany compared	p. 15
Fairness and social provision: qualitative evidence from Germany and the UK	p. 33
Challenges of ethnic diversity: results from a qualitative study	p. 52
Welfare Policies
Supporting Families
Family policy: striving for sustainability	p. 75
Increasing returns: the new economy of family policy in Britain and Germany	p. 91
Family-friendly working time policy in Germany and the United Kingdom	p. 110
Cross-national perspectives on firm-level family policies: Britain, Germany, and the US compared	p. 129
Supporting Pensioners
Towards German liberalism and British social democracy: the evolution of two public occupational pension regimes from 1945 to 2009	p. 157
The impact of the new public and private pension settlements in Britain and Germany on citizens' income in old age	p. 180
Can personal pensions bridge the savings gap? Regulation and performance of personal pensions in Great Britain and Germany	p. 218
Employment and Unemployment
Higher education and graduate employment: the importance of occupational specificity in Germany and Britain	p. 245
From unemployment programmes to 'work first': is German labour market policy becoming British?	p. 266
Conclusion: parallel paths, great similarities, remaining differences	p. 299
References	p. 299
Index	p. 335
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