Transformations of the Welfare State

Christine Trampusch, University of Cologne The word restriction of this review does not allow sufficient appreciation of the four country studies. All four are excellent. They are rich in detail, historically informed, well structured and give an excellend overview of teh reform trajectories in the four investigated policy sectors... In sum, the book offers significant lessons on transformation of teh welfare state in small states. It is extremely valuable for teaching, having the potential to become a bible in welfare state courses for the next decade. The book is of interest no only because of the detailed country studies it contains but also because it shows how political factors matter. It makes clear why political science is indispensable in comparative welfare state research.

Martin Rhodes, West European Politics The quality of this book leaves little scope for criticism. It should deal a heavy blow both to those who still believe in the "strong globalisation" thesis and to those who idealise the onward march of free markets.

Herbert Obinger is Professor of Comparative Public and Social Policy at the University of Bremen in Germany. He also directs the Unit on History and Institutions of the Centre for Social Policy Research (CeS) and directs two projects in the Collaborative Research Centre Transformations of the State (TranState). His publications include The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State (OUP 2010) and Federalism and the Welfare State. Peter Starke is Research Fellow in Political Science at the Collaborative Research Center Transformations of the State (TranState) and at the Centre for Social Policy Research (CeS) at the University of Bremen. He is the author of Radical Welfare State Retrenchment: A Comparative Analysis, and has published several quantitative articles on welfare state convergence. Julia Moser is Project Manager of Human Resources Development at the RKW German Center for Productivity and Innovation e.V. She was a Research Fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre Transformations of the State (TranState). Claudia Bogedan is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (WSI) of the Hans Bockler Foundation in Dusseldorf (Germany) and a former research fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre Transformations of the State (TranState), where she wrote her doctoral dissertation on Danish welfare state reforms. Her research focuses on welfare state reforms in Bismarckian welfare states, labor market policies in Germany and the "Nordic Model." Edith Obinger-Gindulis is a Research Fellow in Political Science at the Collaborative Research Centre Transformations of the State (TranState). Her areas of expertise include abortion politics in OECD-countries and social policy in the German Democratic Republic. Stephan Leibfried is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Bremen, Director of the Collaborative Research Centre Transformations of the State, and member of the Unit on History and Institutions of the Centre for Social Policy Research there. His publications include The Oxford Handbook ofthe Welfare State (OUP 2010), Welfare States: Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Transforming the Golden-Age Nation State, and more.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Austria: The 'Island of the Blessed' in the Ocean of Globalisation; Denmark: The Survival of a Social-democratic Welfare State; New Zealand: Retrenchment and Reconstruction; Switzerland: from Liberal to Conservative Welfare State - a Pattern of Late Maturation?; Comparative Perspectives; References