1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300573403321

Titolo

Welfare State Reforms Seen from Below : Comparing Public Attitudes and Organized Interests in Britain and Germany / / edited by Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Elias Naumann

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2018

ISBN

3-319-63652-9

Edizione

[1st ed. 2018.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XVI, 297 p. 21 illus., 3 illus. in color.)

Disciplina

361.65

Soggetti

Welfare state

Social policy

Political economy

Politics of the Welfare State

Comparative Social Policy

International Political Economy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction: Analysing Organized Interests and Public Opinion Towards Welfare Reforms -- Section 1: Organized Interests, Political Actors, and Social Groups -- 2. Membership or Influence Logic? The Response of Organized Interests to Retirement Age Reforms in Britain and Germany -- 3. Between Power and Persuasion: Explaining the Introduction of Statutory Minimum Wage Laws in Britain and Germany -- 4. Positions of Interests Groups towards Labour Market Reforms in Germany - A Novel Content Analysis of Press Releases -- 5. Class, Union or Party Allegiance? Comparing Pension Reform Preferences in Britain and Germany -- 6. Demand for Healthcare Reform by Public Opinion and Medical Professionals: A Comparative Survey Analysis -- Section 2: Public Attitudes Towards Reforms -- 7. The Popularity of Pension and Unemployment Policies Revisited: The Erosion of Public Support in Britain and Germany -- 8. Trust in Ageing Societies: Confidence in Pensions across Europe -- 9. Does Population Ageing Change Pension Reform Attitudes? A Survey Experiment on Political



Knowledge, Ideology and Preferences -- 10. Increasing Conflict in Times of Retrenchment? Attitudes towards Healthcare Provision in Europe between 1996 and 2002 -- 11. Conclusion: The Influence from Below – How Organized Interests and Public Attitudes Shape Welfare State Reforms in Europe.

Sommario/riassunto

Studying the political economy of welfare state reform, this edited collection focuses on the role of public opinion and organized interests in respect to policy change. It highlights that welfare states are hard pressed to reform in order to cope with ongoing socio-economic and demographic challenges. While public opinion is commonly seen to oppose welfare cuts and organized interests such as trade unions have tended to defend acquired social rights, this book shows that there have been emergent tendencies in favour of reform. Welfare State Reforms Seen from Below analyses a wide range of social policies affecting healthcare, pensions and the labour market to demonstrate how social groups and interest organizations differ and interact in their approaches to reform. Comparing Britain and Germany, with its two very different welfare states, it provides a European perspective on the changing approaches to welfare. This book will be of interest to those wanting to learn more about the politics of the welfare state and of relevance to students and academics in the fields of political economy and comparative social policy.