Douglas J. Besharov is the Norman and Florence Brody Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where he teaches courses on poverty, welfare, children and families, policy analysis, program evaluation, and performance management. He is also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he leads a program in international policy exchanges. In 2008, he was President of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and is currently APPAM's International Conference Coordinator.

Karen Baehler is Scholar in Residence at the American University School of Public Affairs and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Australia New Zealand School of Government. Her research focuses on the theory and practice of policy analysis in social and environmental policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Policy Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Contributors

Bob Adamson
Department of International Education and Lifelong Learning
Hong Kong Institute of Education
Hong Kong, China

Feng Anwei
School of Education
Bangor University
Bangor, Gwynedd, United Kingdom

Karen Baehler
Department of Public Administration and PolicySchool of Public Affairs
American University
Washington, DC

Douglas J. Besharov
School of Public Policy
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland

Mostaem Billah
Department of Geography
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Yanwei Chai
Department of Urban and Economic Geography
Peking University
Beijing, P.R. China

Juan Chen
Department of Applied Social Sciences
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, China

Roger Detels
School of Public Health
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Martin Evans
Oxford Institute of Social Policy
University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom

Barry L. Friedman
The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts

Mary E. Gallagher
Department of Political Sciences
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Qin Gao
Graduate School of Social Service
Fordham University
Bronx, New York

Song Gao
China Academy of Public Finance and Public Policy
Central University of Finance and Economics
Beijing, China

Irwin Garfinkel
School of Social Work

Columbia University
New York, New York

Jing Guo
School of Social Work
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii

Emily Hannum
Sociology Faculty
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Zhilin Liu
School of Pubblic Policy and Management
Tsinghua University
Beijing, P.R. China

Jonathan D. London
Department of Asian and International Studies
City University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, China

Xiangyi Meng
China Academy of Public Finance and Public Policy
Central University of Finance and Economics
Beijing, China

Li Qian,
School of Foreign Languages
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou , P.R. China

Liu Quanguo
School of Foreign Languages
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou , P.R. China

Mary Jane Rotheram
Center for HIV Identification,
Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS)
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Josephine Smart
Department of Anthropology
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta Canada

Sheena G. Sullivan
National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention
Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Beijing, China School of Public Health
University of California Los Angeles
School of Public Health
Los Angeles, California

Reeta Tremblay
Department of Political Science
University Of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Yu Wang
Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Beijing, China

Zunyou Wu
National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention
Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Beijing, China
School of Public Health
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
Department of Sociology and the Asia Research Institute
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
National University of Singapore, Singapore

Xin Zhang
School of Public Administration and Policy
Renmin University
Beijing, China

Yuping Zhang
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA

"Douglas J. Besharov and Karen Baehler have teamed up to put together an impressive collective of cutting-edge research on various aspects of social policy in contemporary China. There is something for everyone interested in rapidly changing China. " -- M Ramesh, PhD, Chair Professor of Governance and Public Policy, Hong Kong Institute of Education.

"This book takes on an important and interesting topic. Massive transitions in Chinese society, and therefore transitions in social policy, ask for extensive research. The world lacks an updated understanding of China's social policies. The book includes all the important topics of social policy, pension, health policy, housing, education, children, disabled, etc. This book can provide a comprehensive overview on the wide scope of social policies." -- Xiaojiang Hu, PhD, Vice Dean, and Associate Professor, School of Social Development and Public Policy; Beijing Normal University

"...a worthy read for several reasons. First, within each theme, the chapters and the overall conclusion provide a nice overview of current academic and policy thinking in general and for Europe in particular. Second, the concluding chapter of the theme continues adding insights because it critically reviews the arguments seen through a US lens. Thirdly and more subtly, the book reveals differences in American and European perspectives on issues such as solidarity (federal vs. national), distributing benefits from economic growth (less vs. more equal), the use of official poverty lines (program eligibility vs. broad strategic goals), and the definition of poverty (low income vs. social exclusion). As politics and policy are never far removed from poverty measurement, it is this characteristic of the book that makes it a relevant read, not only for a US audience but also for a European audience."--International Journal of Social Welfare