This book offers an analytical overview of schools of thought on European integration which offer useful insights into EU social politics. Building on this framework, the chapters then examine in detail pre-Maastricht social policy and the 'social partners', the innovations of the Treaty itself, and where EU social policy stands at the end of the 1990s. Case studies of European Works Councils, parental leave, and atypical work, are included to highlight the day-to-day processes at work in social policy formation and the major interest groups and EU institutions involved. This is an up-to-date and accessible study which finds the social policy-making environment in the EU has become increasingly corporatist in the 1990s.

Since the 2008 economic crisis, each year has brought new challenges to welfare states. This important annual volume with contributions from an exciting mix of internationally renowned experts within the social policy community examines the economic and political challenges that have confronted governments, and highlights the diverse ways in which nations have responded. Part One explores the most pressing questions confronting British social policy, from the school-leaving age, employment, in-work benefits to taxation. Part Two examines the political and professional dilemmas involved in the delivery and financing of social policy. Part Three identifies the challenges in integrating social policy with other areas of the welfare state, including social care, health policy and labour market policy. This comprehensive discussion of the most challenging issues arising during the past year provides academics and students with an invaluable up-to-date analysis of the current state of social policy.

Russian Politics Today: Stability and Fragility provides an accessible and nuanced introduction to contemporary Russian politics at a time of increasing uncertainty. Using the theme of stability versus fragility as its overarching framework, this innovative textbook explores the forces that shape Russia's politics, economy, and society. The volume provides up-to-date coverage of core themes – Russia's strong presidency, its weak party system, the role of civil society, and its dependence on oil and gas revenues – alongside path-breaking chapters on the politics of race, class, gender, sexuality, and the environment. An international and diverse team of experts presents the most comprehensive available account of the evolution of Russian politics in the post-Soviet era, providing the tools for interpreting the past and the present while also offering a template for understanding future developments.

Since the economic crisis of 1997, there have been significant social policy reforms in East Asia. Using the concept of the developmental welfare state, this book seeks to answer whether the welfare reforms in East Asia have extended social rights while maintaining its developmental credentials. Transforming the Developmental Welfare State in East Asia explains the way in which the shift in economic strategy has influenced social policy reform in East Asia. It also analyzes the political dynamics of social policy in which economic imperatives for social reform were transformed into social policy reform.

The redistributive state is fading in Canada. Government programs are no longer offsetting the growth in inequality generated by the market. In this book, leading political scientists, sociologists, and economists point to the failure of public policy to contain surging income inequality. A complex mix of forces has reshaped the politics of social policy, including global economic pressures, ideological change, shifts in the influence of business and labour, changes in the party system, and the decline of equality-seeking civil society organizations. This volume demonstrates that action and inaction policy change and policy drift are at the heart of growing inequality in Canada.

This accessible, broad-ranging textbook provides a critical introduction to British and comparative social policy. Drawing on the comparative analysis of welfare regimes, the book show how the welfare systems of individual countries can only be understood thorugh exploring the wider global context. The chapters highlight the richness, complexity and dynamics of welfare regimes in different countries, while ar the same time considering shared features and trends. Comparing Welfare States provides a unique way into analysis of the British welfare state through its wider international focus. In this extensively revised second edition, the British case is related to the experiences of the United States of America, Swede

Explores the latest research on the impact of government policy - or lack of policy - on family life in various developed and developing nations around the world.

Annotation. As part of the Bank's poverty reduction mandate, the Bank's 1994 Operational Policy on Gender Dimensions of Development aimed to reduce gender disparity and increase the participation of women in the economic development of their countries. This evaluation examines the relevance and results of this policy.

Central America constitutes a fascinating case study of the challenges, opportunities and characteristics of the process of transformation in today’s global economy. Comprised of a politically diverse range of societies, this region has long been of interest to students of economic development and political change. The Handbook of Central American Governance aims to describe and explain the manifold processes that are taking place in Central America that are altering patterns of social, political and economic governance, with particular focus on the impact of globalization and democratization. Containing sections on topics such as state and democracy, key political and social actors, inequality and social policy and international relations, in addition to in-depth studies on five key countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala), this text is composed of contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field. No other single volume studies the current characteristics of the region from a political, economic and social perspective or reviews recent research in such detail. As such, this handbook is of value to academics, students and researchers as well as to policy-makers and those with an interest in governance and political processes.

Bringing together contributions from leading labour market policy scholars from across the globe, this state-of-the-art Handbook offers extensive and compelling analyses of labour market policy in advanced democracies. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.