Persisting unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, labour market flexibility, job insecurity and higher wage inequality, changing patterns of work and family life are among the factors that exert pressure on welfare states in Europe. This book explores the potential of an unconditional basic income, without means test or work requirement, to meet the challenges posed by the new social question, compared to policies of subsidized insertion in work. It also assesses the political chances...

Basic income is a regularly debated topic in various scholarly disciplines (political philosophy, political theory, welfare economics, labour market economics and social policy) and in circles of policy makers, administrators and activists. Since the late 1970s, unemployment is the primary problem for social-economic policy in all welfare states. In Basic Income, Unemployment and Compensatory Justice it is argued that implementing a substantial basic income is the best pol...

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 histori...

The financial crisis seemed to present a fundamental challenge to neo liberalism, the body of ideas that have constituted the political orthodoxy of most advanced economies in recent decades. Colin Crouch argues in this book that it will shrug off this challenge. The reason is that while neo liberalism seems to be about free markets, in practice it is concerned with the dominance over public life of the giant corporation. This has been intensified, not checked, by the recent financial cris...

An A-Z of contemporary economics in all its forms, Economics: the Key Concepts is an affordable, accessible reference for students, lecturers and economists at every level. The key topics explored include:competition and monopolydevelopment economicsgame theoryproperty rightstaxation.Fully cross-referenced with extensive guides to further reading, this is the essential comprehensive pocket reference to the ideas,...

Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the Twenty-First Century has enjoyed great success and provides a new theory about wealth and inequality. However, there have been major criticisms of his work. Anti-Piketty: Capital for the 21st Century collects key criticisms from 20 specialists—economists, historians, and tax experts—who provide rigorous arguments against Piketty's work while examining the notions of inequality, growth, wealth, and capital.

Mainstream textbooks present economics as an objective science free from value judgements; that settles disputes by testing hypotheses; that applies a pre-determined body of principles; and contains policy prescriptions supported by a consensus of professional opinion. The Economics Anti-Textbook argues that this is a myth - one which is not only dangerously misleading but also bland and boring. It challenges the mainstream textbooks' assumptions, arguments, models and evidence. It puts th...

This accessible work provides a ‘political sociology’ of welfare states in industrial societies, with both historical and contemporary perspectives. Ellison focuses on the social and political underpinnings of a number of welfare regimes and looks at the transformations they have undergone and the challenges they face.This book assesses current debates about the role of ‘globalization’ in welfare state change, paying particular attention to contemporary views about the capacity of ...

Now with a substantial new postscript on the financial crisisThis book provides a basic introduction to the 'nuts and bolts' of capitalism. It starts by examining the classic accounts of capitalism found in the works of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Joseph Schumpeter, and John Maynard Keynes. Each placed emphasis on different institutional elements of capitalism - Smith on the market's 'invisible hand'; Marx on capital's exploitation of labour; Weber on the fou...

Leading scholars in the field examine the highly topical issue of the future of the welfare state in Europe. They argue that welfare states need to adjust, and examine which kind of welfare architecture will further Europe's stated goal of maximum social inclusion and justice. The volume concentrates on four principal social policy domains; the aged and transition to retirement; the welfare issues related to profound changes in working life; the new risks and needs that arise in households...

This new and comprehensive volume covering the subfield of comparative political economy provides a detailed overview over its intellectual roots, clarifies its contents, and introduces the readers to key debates while identifying new and exciting avenues for future research. Ideas, interests, and institutions have traditionally been the main focus points of this field, but the volume argues that culture provides an additional and often neglected area, providing the 'glue' that keeps natio...

Housing stocks provide much more than just shelter. Energy suppliers, pension fund managers and public transit providers are but a few of the many stakeholders that have a regulated interest in the non-shelter goods and services offered by housing. Such stakeholders and their activities are traditionally addressed on a sectoral basis, yet regulations that are designed to apply to one often have unintended effects on another, effects that may produce negative pressure on the housing stock –...