A Long Goodbye to Bismarck? The Politics of Welfare Reform in Continental Europe

• Other Authors: Palier, Bruno (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam University Press 2010
• Series: Changing Welfare States
• Subjects: Politics & government; Economics, finance, business & management; public administration; economics; bestuurskunde; political science; economie; politicologie
• Online Access: OAPEN Library: download the publication; OAPEN Library: description of the publication

This book provides an extensive and comparative account of all welfare reforms that occurred during the last three decades in Continental European countries. It reveals unexpected important structural reforms, to be understood as the culmination of a long reform trajectory, analyzed in detail with the tools of comparative historical institutionalism. With these reforms, Bismarckian welfare systems have lost their encompassing capacities, have partially turned to employment-friendliness and weakened the strongest elements of their male breadwinner bias. "This volume is the definitive work on the politics of reform in Bismarckian welfare regimes. It is essential reading for any scholar interested in welfare reform - or indeed, in institutional and policy change more generally." (Kathleen Thelen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) "The contributors to the volume are all recognized experts on their field and provide strictly comparable analyses in their chapters, making this volume a gold mine for comparative welfare state scholars. Palier's volume is certain to be a benchmark study for the foreseeable future." (John D. Stephens, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) "This volume, representing the best available scholarship in comparative socio-economic research, provides important and highly policy-relevant insights. A must-read." (Fritz Scharpf, Max Planck Institute for the Studies of Societies)

De afgelopen dertig jaar zijn diverse sociale hervormingen doorgevoerd in Europa. A Long Goodbye to Bismarck geeft hiervan een uitgebreid overzicht. Aan bod komen Duitsland, Oostenrijk, Frankrijk, België, Nederland, Spanje, Italië, Zwitserland, Tsjechië, Hongarije, Polen en Slowakije. Bruno Palier toont aan dat al deze landen vergaande hervormingen hebben doorgevoerd in hun zorgstelsel. De oudere structuren, gebaseerd op de eerste sociale zorgstelsels als die onder Bismarck, voldoen niet meer aan de hedendaagse maatschappelijke behoeften. Zo is met de emancipatie van werknemers de hiërarchische structuur veranderd en is de man niet langer vanzelfsprekend de kostwinner van het gezin. Tegenwoordig hebben veel landen een duaal systeem dat onderscheid maakt tussen bescherming van goedfunctionerende burgers en de ondersteuning en motivatie van 'atypische' deelnemers aan de samenleving.