A Handbook of Comparative Social Policy

The current context of social policy is one in which many of the old certainties of the past have been eroded. The predominantly inward-looking, domestic preoccupation of social policy has made way for a more integrated, international and outward approach to analysis which looks beyond the boundaries of the state. It is in this context that this Handbook brings together the work of key commentators in the field of comparative analysis in order to provide comprehensive coverage of contemporary debates and issues in cross-national social policy research. Organized around five themes, this impressive volume explores the contextual, conceptual, analytical and processual aspects of undertaking comparative social research. In the first part, the authors are concerned with de-centring the state and extending the epistemological framework through which cross-national analysis is explored. In Parts II and III, the focus is on the conceptual and theoretical frameworks for analysing social policy cross-nationally, while Part IV examines the day-to-day reality of preparing for and carrying out cross-national analysis. In the final section, the authors highlight continuing and emerging themes and issues which are of particular relevance to understanding the contemporary social world. International in scope, this authoritative Handbook presents original cutting-edge research from leading specialists and will become an indispensable source of reference for anyone interested in comparative social research. It will also prove a valuable study aid for undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of disciplines including social policy, sociology, politics, urban studies and public policy.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction: The Changing Context of Comparative Social Policy Part I: The State and Social Policy in a Globalizing World 1. Hollowing Out the ‘Nation-State’ and Multi-Level Governance 2. Globalization, the State and Welfare: Gendering The Debate 3. Globalization, Human Security and Social Policy: North And South 4. Social Protection by Other Means: Can it Survive Globalization? Part II: Concepts and Definitions 5. Defining Comparative Social Policy 6. Conceptualizing State and Society 7. The Ethnocentric Construction of the Welfare State 8. The Paradox of Care: A Chinese Confucian Perspective on Long-term Care Part III: Comparing and Categorizing Social Policy, Provision and Redistribution 9. Robin Hood, St. Matthew, or Simple Egalitarianism? Strategies of Equality in Welfare States 10. Gender, Citizenship and Welfare State Regimes 11. Structured Diversity: A Framework for Critically Comparing Welfare States? 12. Social Development and Social Welfare: Implications for Social Policy 13. Social Policy Regimes in the Developing World Part IV: The Research Process 14. Crossing Cultural Boundaries 15. Living with Imperfect Comparisons 16. Constructing Categories and Data Collection 17. ‘Fit For Purpose?’ Qualitative Methods in Comparative Social Policy 18. The Quantitative Method in Comparative Research Part V: Themes and Issues 19. The International and Comparative Analysis of Social Exclusion: European Perspectives 20. Shelter, Housing and Inequality 21. Globalization and Crime 22. Informational Society, E-Governance and the Policy Process Index

About the Author :
Edited by Patricia Kennett, Professor, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK

Review :
'Kennett has made a major contribution to the comparative study of social policy. The book will undoubtedly serve as a major resource for social policy scholars, and the editor is to be commended for taking on what must have been a Herculean task. . . It is to be hoped that the book will be available in many university libraries. It deserves to be widely consulted not only by those interested in international issues but by anyone concerned with the challenges facing the academic field of social policy today.' 'This volume makes a heroic effort to transform the abstractions floating around in the literature on comparative social policy research into a more grounded discussion of what the policy controversies are all about. The contributions in the book climb down the ladder of abstraction which asserts that context, institutions and globalization all count, and that the public-private discourse has changed. The book attempts to specifically show how these abstractions matter in recent social policy practice and research.'