Suchergebnisse

Front Matter -- Copyright -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Contributors -- Preface -- 1. Welfare states in turbulent times -- 2. Demography - once again and still challenging the welfare states -- 3. Self-employment and technology: different models of labor relations -- 4. The perceived dilemma between debt reduction and a fair society: saving for a rainy day without increasing poverty? -- 5. The evolution of welfare attitudes in Europe over the past four decades -- 6. Climate change and its effect on welfare states -- 7. Keynesian economics steering is back - end of liberal economic policy? -- 8. The welfare state and handling health challenges -- 9. Welfare states, growth regimes, and the emergence of the knowledge economy: social policy in turbulent times -- 10. Allies or enemies of the welfare state? Welfare support and critiques from (left-wing) protesters in Europe -- 11. Conflicting demands and financial abilities? -- 12. Effective and fair labour markets: more and focused active labour market policy? -- 13. Mass migration due to climate change? A critique of the security focus on climate mobilities -- 14. The welfare state in turbulent times: a perspective from the United States -- 15. The way welfare states can develop in turbulent times -- Index.

"This fully revised and updated edition of Happiness provides an accessible introduction to the concept of happiness and how it can be applied to public policy in order to help citizens achieve the good life. Countries around the globe want to ensure the best for their citizens. They want them to be happy, have a good life and improve their well-being. It follows that, whilst happiness is based upon individuals' subjective perception of their own situation, it is important to understand the concept of happiness in order to form policies that might help individuals to achieve what they believe will make them happier. Applying approaches from disciplines across the social sciences, this book explores varying notions of happiness and how these can be applied to create a theoretical understanding of happiness as a concept. The book then demonstrates how the concept of happiness can be used to analyse social policy in welfare states in areas including work, health and migration, as well as to evaluate everyday life and social relationships. This book will be essential reading for students and instructors in a range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences with an interest in the concept of happiness"--

Globalisation, regionalisation, new technology, demography, voters' expectations and re-structuring of societies are expected to influence welfare state development for years to come. This handbook analyses how different welfare state models and regimes will be able to cope with contemporary and future challenges, providing a variety of evidence based tools that make it essential reading for students, researchers and policy makers alike.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of boxes -- Foreword -- PART I: Central concepts -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1 What are the central issues? -- 1.2 Overview of the book -- References -- 2. What is welfare? Some basic concepts -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 What is welfare? -- 2.3 Some basic principles, concepts and policies -- 2.4 State, market and civil society -- 2.5 Quality of life - new ways of measuring well-being -- 2.6 Balancing perspectives of equity and efficiency -- 2.7 Summing up -- Notes -- References -- 3. Welfare states and welfare regimes -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 What is the welfare state? -- 3.3 Historical development -- 3.4 What are welfare regimes? -- 3.5 Welfare regimes and welfare typologies -- 3.6 Possible drivers for change -- 3.7 Emergent welfare regimes -- 3.8 Social investment and other perspectives -- 3.9 Summing up -- Notes -- References -- PART II: State, market and civil society -- 4. The state -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Public, fiscal and occupational welfare -- 4.3 The level and composition of state welfare in different types of welfare regimes -- 4.4 Fiscal and occupational welfare and their impact -- 4.5 Choice and equality/inequality -- 4.6 Summing up -- Notes -- References -- 5. Financing the public sector -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Principles of how to finance the public sector -- 5.3 Regional and global economic development and sustainable financing -- 5.4 Impact of demography on financing the welfare state -- 5.5 Summing-up -- References -- 6. The role of the market -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Market and government failure -- 6.3 The financial market - a case history -- 6.4 Marketisation of welfare provision -- 6.5 Summing-up -- Note -- References -- 7. The labour market: employment and unemployment -- 7.1 Introduction.

Austerity and the welfare state: an Introduction -- Key concepts -- Can we measure change? -- Tax or welfare? -- Key developments in welfare state spending -- Has there been austerity within the pension system? -- Employment policy -- Health care -- Long-term care -- Poverty and inequality -- How far have welfare states changed? -- Austerity in welfare states or not?

"Poverty has dire consequences on the ability to fulfil one's aspirations for life. Poverty has strong implications for social cohesion and societies' abilities to function in harmonious ways. This book presents the readers with the core concepts, latest development and knowledge about policies that work to eliminate absolute poverty. This volume shows what the consequences are for the quality of life of those living in poverty. It describes life for people in poverty in general, but also deals more specifically with children, in-work poverty and the elderly, thus providing a life, generational and global perspective on poverty, including the impact on people's happiness levels. The book also discusses policies aimed at poverty reduction, such as changes to the labour market - including the risk of working poor - and shows that there is a variety of possible instruments available to reduce poverty. These range from direct provision of social security to ensuring education and a better functioning labour market. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book provides a succinct insight into the concept of poverty, how to measure it, the situation of poverty around the globe as well as different types of possible interventions to cope with poverty. Supporting theory with examples and case studies from a variety of contexts, suggestions for further reading, and a detailed glossary, this text is an essential read for anyone approaching the study of poverty for the first time"--

"The first of the UN Millennium Goals was to reduce extreme poverty and it was in 2014 halved compared to 1990, and now the goal is to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030. The reduction in poverty is to a high degree the consequence of the rapid economic development in a few countries, especially China, but in many countries around the globe poverty is still high and influencing societies' overall development. It is against this background that this Handbook provides an up to date analysis and overview of the topic from a large variety of theoretical and methodological angles. Organized into four sections, the Handbook provides knowledge on what poverty is, how it has developed, and what type of policies might be able to succeed in reducing poverty. The first section investigates conceptual issues and relates concepts to people's relative position in society and the understanding of justice. The second section shows how poverty has developed. It will combine existing empirical knowledge with regional/national understanding of the issue of poverty. The third section analyses policies and interventions with the aim of reducing or alleviating poverty within a national as well as global context. It will and intends to include a variety of countries and examples. The last section tells us what can be done about poverty, what instruments are available to end poverty as we know it today. This volume will be an invaluable reference book for students and scholars throughout the social sciences, particularly in sociology, social policy, public policy, development studies, international relations and politics"--

In a time of increasing inequality, why has there been a recent surge of support for political parties who promote an anti-welfare message? Using a mixed methods approach and newly released data, this book aims to answer this question and to show possible ways forward for welfare states.