The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State

Francis G. Castles is Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University and at the Center for Social Policy Research (CeS) in Bremen.

Stephan Leibfried is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Bremen, Director of the Collaborative Research Center "Transformations of the State" (TranState) and member of the Unit History and Institutions of the Center for Social Policy Research (CeS) there.

Jane Lewis is Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Herbert Obinger is Professor of Comparative Public and Social Policy at the University of Bremen, directs the Unit History and Institutions of the Center for Social Policy Research (CeS) and directs two projects in the Collaborative Research Center "Transformations of the State" (TranState).

Christopher Pierson is Professor of Politics at the University of Nottingham and Director of Teaching and Lead Editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relations.

Willem Adema, OECD
Edwin Amenta, University of California, Irvine
Klaus Armingeon, University of Bern
Wilhelm A. Arts, University College Utrecht
Thomas Bahle, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
Juan Ariel Bogliaccini, Doctoral Student, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Jonathan Bradshaw, University of York
Marius R. Busemeyer, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Eero Carroll, Stockholm University
Stephen Castles, University of Sydney; University of Oxford
Linda J. Cook, Brown University
Mary Daly, Queen's University Belfast
Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
Tony Fahey, University College Dublin
Gerda Falkner, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Maurizio Ferrera, State University of Milan
Richard Freeman, University of Edinburgh
John Gelissen, Tilburg University
Howard Glennerster, Emeritus, London School of Economics
Ian Gough, University of Bath
Alexander M. Hicks, Emory University
Karl Hinrichs, University of Bremen; Humboldt University Berlin
Evelyne Huber, University of North Carolina
Ellen M. Immergut, Humboldt University Berlin
Torben Iversen, Harvard University
Olli Kangas, Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela)
Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, Emeritus, University of Bielefeld
Mikko Kauto, Finnish Centre for Pensions
Lane Kenworthy, University of Arizona
Desmond King, Nuffield College, Oxford University
Martin Kohli, European University Institute
Stein Kuhnle, Hertie School of Governance
Matthieu Leimgruber, University of Geneva
Jonah Levy, University of California, Berkeley
Julia F. Lynch, University of Pennsylvania
Philip Manow, University of Heidelberg
Isabela Mares, Columbia University
Rita Nikolai, Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB)
Michelle Norris, University College Dublin
Frank Nullmeier, University of Bremen
Ann Shola Orloff, Northwestern University
August Österle, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
Einar Øverbye, Oslo University College
Bruno Palier, Sciences Po (CEVIPOF)
Joakim Palme, Institute for Future Studies, Sweden
Ito Peng, University of Toronto
Michaela Pfeifer, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
Mark Priestley, University of Leeds
Fiona Ross, University of Bristol
Heinz Rothgang, University of Bremen
Anne Sander, Hertie School of Governance
Peter Saunders, University of New South Wales
Carl-Ulrik Schierup, Linköping University
Manfred G. Schmidt, University of Heidelberg
Ola Sjöberg, Stockholm University
John D. Stephens, University of North Carolina
Stefan Svallfors, Umeå University
Duane Swank, University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge
Kees van Kersbergen, Free University (VU)
Uwe Wagschal, University of Freiburg
Claus Wendt, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
Stuart White, Jesus College, Oxford University
Peter Whiteford, University of New South Wales
Joseph Wong, University of Toronto
Jan Zutavern, European University Institute

"This is a landmark book for international scholarship in social policy. It has been compiled by some of the leading international scholars in the field and published, in some style...all academics in the field should ensure that university libraries acquire copies of the book. It will prove to be an essential reference for all those studying social policy, as well as many in politics, public administration, sociology and other cognate subjects...More generally, it is attention to detail, co-existing with breadth of vision and reach, which make this such an attractive book. The editors and their contributors are addressing most of the big questions that underpin the history of the welfare state and its future prospects, and they are doing this on an international scale...If you are not passionate about social policy before encountering this Handbook, then surely you will be once you have begun to delve into it."--Journal of Social Policy

"This landmark book achieves its aspiration to provide the 'most authoritative survey and critique of the welfare state yet published'...should be part of the foundation collection in any college library. Summing Up: Essential."--CHOICE

"The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, written by an impressive array of scholars, is the book to read to understand the welfare state in all its complexity, from philosophical foundations to methodological and substantive theories, from policies and processes to actors and institutions, and from established welfare states to emerging ones."--Vivien A. Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Boston University

"This new Handbook of the Welfare State represents state-of-the-art scholarship on one of the most important institutions of our times. The book brings together the world's leading authorities from many disciplines and provides an exhaustive and yet easily accessible treatment of the complete range of issues relevant for understanding welfare states. The volume has simply no rival, be it in terms of intellectual breath or scholarly quality--a truly impressive addition to OUP's fantastic Handbook series."--Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Professor of Sociology, Pompeu Fabra University

"This is not a book for the faint-hearted, nor for those looking for welfare-state lite. Instead, this large coherent volume offers a rich array of talented authors applying diverse approaches--historical, philosophical, political, sociological, and economic--to analysing and comparing welfare states around the world and to offering a powerful reassertion of their resilience and their importance in a modern economy."--Nicholas Barr, Professor of Public Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science

"It is far-ranging and comprehensive and provides helpful summaries of many of the topics and issues that characterize welfare state scholarship today." -- James Midgley, School of Social Welfare, University of California Berkeley, Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

"Students new to transnational comparative social policy focusing on the rich societies of the West will find it invaluable. The Handbook will also, of course, be useful for teachers and researchers, in mapping out contemporary themes and issues."--Critical Social Policy