Handbook on Austerity, Populism and the Welfare State

Edited by Bent Greve, Professor of Welfare State Analysis, Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Denmark

This innovative Handbook presents the core concepts associated with austerity, retrenchment and populism and explores how they can be used to analyse developments in different welfare states and in specific social policies. Leading experts highlight how these concepts have influenced and changed welfare states around the globe and impacted specific areas including pensions, long-term care, the labour market, taxation, social activism and gender equality.

‘This timely book offers compelling, critical yet nuanced analyses of the three key features shaping welfare-state reform since the Great Recession: austerity, retrenchment and populism. Covering a rich array of European regions, sectors and policy fields, it is an exceptionally stimulating contribution to the debate on the welfare state’s future.’
– Kees van Kersbergen, Aarhus University, Denmark