Question

Discuss the transformation of the concept welfare state?

Answer 1

Answer:

This accessible work provides a ‘political sociology’ of welfare states in industrial

societies, with both historical and contemporary perspectives. Ellison focuses on

the social and political underpinnings of a number of welfare regimes and looks

at the transformations they have undergone and the challenges they face.

This book assesses current debates about the role of ‘globalization’ in welfare

state change, paying particular attention to contemporary views about the capacity

of embedded institutional structures to limit the effects of global economic

pressures. Ellison assesses the changing nature of social policies in nine OECD

countries – selected to include ‘liberal’, ‘social democratic’ and ‘continental’ welfare

regimes. Taking labour market and pension policies as the main areas of

investigation, this volume provides ‘snapshots’ of welfare reform in each case,

charting the ways in which different regimes ‘manage’ the range of challenges

with which they are confronted. Ultimately, the book suggests that all contemporary

welfare regimes are experiencing a level of ‘neoliberal drift’. As yet, this trend

towards liberalization remains constrained in those countries with more

‘coordinated’ economies and institutionalized forms of social partnership – but

the question is for how long?

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of International

Politics, Sociology and Social Policy.

Nick Ellison is Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University

of Durham. He has published widely in the area of the politics of social policy.