Description
Virpi Timonen investigates both the changes that have taken place in central social policies in the areas of pensions, unemployment policies, social and health services, and the political and structural reasons for the pattern of policy change that emerged. A critical evaluation of the roles of globalization, political mechanisms and power relationships in shaping these social policies in Finland and Sweden is also featured.
Welfare state specialists and those seeking to understand welfare states as a central constituent of politics in Nordic countries will find Restructuring the Welfare State to be of great interest. The book will also appeal to academics and researchers in the fields of social policy and comparative politics, as well as public and social policy analysts in international organizations such as the OECD and the World Bank.
About the Author
Virpi Timonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Reviews
'Timonen adheres to a style of writing that is organized, rational, and straightforward. This book offers new insight into the realm of welfare reform from which even scholars new to the field of comparative social welfare could derive great benefit.' -- Allison Kidder, New Global Development: Journal of International and Comparative Social Welfare
'By documenting developments in [Finland and Sweden] in great detail, the author offers useful insights into social policy in the region and shows that the simplistic way many social policy writers have blamed globalization for welfare state retrenchment needs to be reconsidered and refined. The book's impressive use of theory is also highly commended. Many readers will be impressed by the way the author uses theory to test popular statements about the changes in social policy that have taken place in recent times.' -- Social Development Issues
Book Information
ISBN 9781843761242
Author Virpi Timonen
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
