Long Goodbye to Bismarck?

This book provides an extensive and comparative account of all welfare reforms that occurred during the last three decades in Continental European countries. It reveals unexpected important structural reforms, to be understood as the culmination of a long reform trajectory, analyzed in detail with the tools of comparative historical institutionalism. With these reforms, Bismarckian welfare systems have lost their encompassing capacities, have partially turned to employment-friendliness and weakened the strongest elements of their male breadwinner bias. “This volume is the definitive work on the politics of reform in Bismarckian welfare regimes. It is essential reading for any scholar interested in welfare reform – or indeed, in institutional and policy change more generally.” (Kathleen Thelen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology )“The contributors to the volume are all recognized experts on their field and provide strictly comparable analyses in their chapters, making this volume a gold mine for comparative welfare state scholars. Palier’s volume is certain to be a benchmark study for the foreseeable future.” (John D. Stephens, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)“This volume, representing the best available scholarship in comparative socio-economic research, provides important and highly policy-relevant insights. A must-read.” (Fritz Scharpf, Max Planck Institute for the Studies of Societies)

“I can think of few edited volumes that manage so successfully to furnish the reader with rich detail and holism all at once. And not least, these contributions to our never-ending concern with the welfare state provide interesting reading, indeed.” Professor Gosta Esping-Andersen Pompeu University, Barcelona "This volume represents the best available scholarship in comparative socio-economic research” “A must read." Fritz Scharpf, Emeritus Director, Max Planck Institute for the Studies of Societies “The contributors to the volume are all recognized experts in their field and provide strictly comparable analyses in their chapters, making this volume a goldmine for comparative welfare state scholars. Palier’s study is certain to become a benchmark for the foreseeable future.” Professor John D. Stephens, Director of the Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina “This volume is the definitive work on the politics of reform in Bismarckian welfare regimes. It features both rich empirical accounts of individual countries and penetrating new comparative analyses. Wonderfully rounded off by synthetic introductory and concluding chapters by Palier, this book is essential reading for any scholar interested in welfare reform – or indeed, in institutional and policy change more generally.” Kathleen Thelen, Ford Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bruno Palier is CNRS researcher at the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques in Paris and scientific coordinator of the European Network of Excellence, Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe (RECWOWE).