Bent Greve 
The Times They Are Changing? 
Crisis and the Welfare State

The Times They Are Changing? Crisis and the Welfare State presents a series of readings from international policy researchers that examine the effects of the recent financial crisis on welfare states around the world.

* Provides comprehensive and in depth coverage of changes in welfare states as a result of the financial crisis

* Reveals how the financial crisis is changing our perception of the welfare states

* Features contributions from policy researchers and academics from around the world

Table of Content

Editorial Introduction: Overview and Conclusion 1

Bent Greve

1 To What Extent Did the Financial Crisis Intensify the Pressure
to Reform the Welfare State? 7

Barbara Vis, Kees van Kersbergen and Thomas H. Hylands

2 Falling Back on Old Habits? A Comparison of the Social and
Unemployment Crisis Reactive Policy Strategies in Germany, the UK
and Sweden 23

Heejung Chung and Stefan Thewissen

3 The Impact of the Crisis on Australian Social Security Policy
in Historical Perspective 41

Peter Saunders and Chris Deeming

4 US Social Policy in the 21st Century: The Difficulties of
Comprehensive Social Reform 59

Anne Daguerre

5 Economic Crisis and Welfare Retrenchment: Comparing Irish
Policy Responses in the 1970s and 1980s with the Present 79

Fiona Dukelow

6 Crisis and Welfare State Change in the Netherlands 101

Mara Yerkes and Romke van der Veen

7 Explaining Welfare Reforms in Italy between Economy and
Politics: External Constraints and Endogenous Dynamics 117

Franca Maino and Stefano Neri

8 The Economic Crisis as a Trigger of Convergence? Short-time
Work in Italy, Germany and Austria 137

Stefano Sacchi, Federico Pancaldi and Claudia Arisi

9 Health Care Policy for Better or for Worse? Examining NHS
Reforms During Times of Economic Crisis versus Relative Stability
161

Lorraine Frisina Doetter and Ralf Götze

Index 179

About the author

Bent Greve is Professor in Social Science with an emphasis on Welfare State Analysis at Roskilde University, Denmark. He is the regional and special issues editor of the journal Social Policy & Administration and has published extensively on social and labour market policy, social security, tax expenditures, public sector expenditures and financing of the welfare state.