Master's Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: A (Excellent), University of Dalarna (European Political Sociology), language: English, abstract: The provision of welfare is a defining characteristic of the states in Europe, as well as the target of various reform efforts. Within the European welfare states, health care is embedded as a public affair and despite slight variations, the majority of European states guarantees most of the cost of using health services to almost all of their citizens (OECD 1992; 1994). As health care is among the most personal issues, it is also among the most politically discussed. During the 1990s, reforms were introduced in the health care sector in many European countries with the common goal to make existing health care systems more cost efficient and gain greater control over how public resources were spent within them (Mossialos/Le Grand 1999). However, expenditure cuts with regard to the health care system are politically delicate.

This book is explicitly comparative, and comparison is essential to the analyses it develops. The book is explicitly concerned with the liberal democracies of western Europe. The countries covered in detail here - Italy, Sweden and the UK, and France and Germany - constitute a purposive sample. The distinction between national health services and social insurance systems is not real, but an abstract formulation which makes a wealth of information more manageable. Choosing these countries makes sense not because they are somehow representative of general types but because, between them, they are indicative of particular sets of problems in the politics of health and health care. The working assumption here is that the public provision of health care is embedded in a distinctively European politics.

Presents recent research on the recasting of European welfare states resulting from the European Forum on Welfare States held at the European University Institute in Florence during 1998-99. Offers comparative analysis of topical issues, and in-depth studies of changes in the major European countries. Analyzes the impact of retrenchment and reform, and adds to ongoing debates about policy convergence, trade-offs of innovation, cost savings, and equity. Ferrera teaches public policy and administration at the University of Pavia and directs the Center for Comparative Political Research at Bocconi University, Italy. Rhodes teaches European public policy at the European University Institute, Italy. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

This book explores the interaction between public health policies and social inequality. It probes three issues: What groups wield the greatest influence over the policy process? Who gains the most benefits from health policies? How can we best understand the policy link between health and social inequalities? A theory of social opportunities clarifies the reasons for policy effectiveness, particularly the impact of public programmes on the environmental and personal conditions that improve people's health.