Hardback : £55.64
From housing, pensions and family benefits, to health care, unemployment insurance and social assistance, the welfare state is a key aspect of our lives. But social programs are contested political realities that we can't hope to understand without locating them within the "big picture."
This book provides a concise political and sociological introduction to social policy, helping readers to grasp the nature of social programs and the political struggles surrounding them. It takes a broad comparative and historical viewpoint on the United States, using an international perspective to contextualize American social policy within the developed world. Provocative and engaging, it offers insight into a wide range of social policy issues such as: welfare regimes, welfare state development, the politics of retrenchment and restructuring; the relationship between social programs and various forms of inequality; changing family and economic relations; the role of private social benefits; the potential impact of globalization; and debates about the future of the welfare state.
What is Social Policy? will be stimulating reading for upper-level students of sociology, political science, public policy, and social work.
From housing, pensions and family benefits, to health care, unemployment insurance and social assistance, the welfare state is a key aspect of our lives. But social programs are contested political realities that we can't hope to understand without locating them within the "big picture."
This book provides a concise political and sociological introduction to social policy, helping readers to grasp the nature of social programs and the political struggles surrounding them. It takes a broad comparative and historical viewpoint on the United States, using an international perspective to contextualize American social policy within the developed world. Provocative and engaging, it offers insight into a wide range of social policy issues such as: welfare regimes, welfare state development, the politics of retrenchment and restructuring; the relationship between social programs and various forms of inequality; changing family and economic relations; the role of private social benefits; the potential impact of globalization; and debates about the future of the welfare state.
What is Social Policy? will be stimulating reading for upper-level students of sociology, political science, public policy, and social work.
List of Tables vi
Preface & Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 Social Policy and the Welfare State 9
2 The United States in International Context 44
3 Welfare State Development 66
4 Retrenchment and Restructuring 93
5 Looking Challenges 120
Conclusion 151
Notes 157
References 161
Daniel Beland isProfessor of Public Policy and Sociology at the University ofSaskatchewan
Sets out a complete dossier of information in order to understandthe origins, evolution and current challenges of the welfare stateand social policy in North American societies compared with otherwestern countries. International Sociology "The best brief account of US welfare available. Highlyrecommended." Choice "It has been quipped that on of the last bastions of British Empirehas been the introductory social policy textbook and that mighthave been so: until now. Daniel Beland has finally breachedthat bastion." Journal of Social Policy "In this important and well-researched book, DanielBeland examines the American welfare state in both acomparative and a historical context. What is Social Policy?Understanding the Welfare State explains in clear language howsocial programs protect individuals and families againstfluctuations in the economy and changing risks that occur acrossthe life course. From health care to unemployment insurance toold-age pensions, Beland makes a compelling case for why thewelfare state is significant in shaping lives and reducinginequality." Jill Quadagno, Florida State University and author of OneNation, Uninsured "Ambitious in scope yet admirably concise ... DanielBeland has written a very good introduction to U.S. socialpolicy, one that is particularly well-suited to undergraduates andgeneral readers." Christopher Howard, College of William and Mary, Virginia
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