This book takes stock of major and recent developments in welfare policy in the UK and Germany. Concentrating on trends since the 1990s it compares the similarities and differences between the two countries and analyses the degree to which social attitudes towards welfare provision, fairness, and social justice have changed. It focuses on the policy areas that have been particularly affected in recent years and examines change and possible convergence across three public policy domains: family policy, pensions and policies aimed at social and labour market integration. The book covers both public provision as well as the role of company-based social protection. Based on new empirical survey research as well as focus group interviews, the contributions analyse the ways in which social policies have adapted to common and country-specific challenges, and provide an understanding of the changing welfare landscapes in the UK and Germany.

This volume reviews and compares welfare policy change in the UK and Germany. It focuses on family policy, pensions, and the labour market, and covers both public provision as well as the role of company-based social protection.

Providing a survey of colonial American history both regionally broad and "Atlantic" in coverage, Converging Worlds presents the most recent research in an accessible manner for undergraduate students. With chapters written by top-notch scholars, Converging Worlds is unique in providing not only a comprehensive chronological approach to colonial history with attention to thematic details, but a window into the relevant historiography. Each historian also selected several documents to accompany their chapter, found in the companion primary source reader. Converging Worlds: Communities and Cultures in Colonial America includes: timelines tailored for every chapter chapter summaries discussion questions lists of further reading, introducing students to specialist literature fifty illustrations. Key topics discussed include: French, Spanish, and Native American experiences regional areas such as the Midwest and Southwest religion including missions, witchcraft, and Protestants the experience of women and families. With its synthesis of both broad time periods and specific themes, Converging Worlds is ideal for students of the colonial period, and provides a fascinating glimpse into the diverse foundations of America. For additional information and classroom resources please visit the Converging Worlds companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415964999.

Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in western societies. Gosta Esping-Andersen, one of the most distinguished contributors to current debates on this issue, here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced western societies. Esping-Andersen distinguishes several major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different western countries. Current economic processes, the author argues, such as those moving towards a post-industrial order, are not shaped by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences. Fully informed by comparative materials, this book will have great appeal to everyone working on issues of economic development and post-industrialism. Its audience will include students and academics in sociology, economics and politics.

This book traces how individuals fare over time in each of the three principal types of welfare state.

Providing a survey of colonial American history both regionally broad and "Atlantic" in coverage, Converging Worlds presents the most recent research in an accessible manner for undergraduate students. The ideal accompaniment to Converging Worlds: Communities and Cultures in Colonial America, this Sourcebook is a collection of primary documents that contextualize and bring to life the exciting narrative of early America. The expert authors of each chapter have hand-picked multiple documents corresponding with the same chapter in the textbook to help students delve deeper into the diverse geographic regions and variety of topics covered in this time period, including: Letters Pamphlets and newspaper articles Excerpts from diaries Patents and charters Court records And much more! While the Sourcebook and text make a perfectly integrated package, the Sourcebook also features general introductions and section introductions framing the documents, so students can easily use it on its own to explore the vast colonial world up close. In addition to the helpful maps, timelines, and further resources available for students on the companion site, instructors will have access to the full text of many of the documents included in the Sourcebook. For additional information and classroom resources please visit the Converging Worlds companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/breen.