Publisher's Synopsis
Mass unemployment has become a characteristic feature of almost all western democracies in the past two decades. Its repercussions have seriously strained the capacity of welfare states and challenged the legitimacy of policy programmes, especially those which support supposedly 'less deserving' groups. - - In this comprehensive study into one of the most crucial, but also most controversial, elements of the welfare state, Jochen Clasen provides a comparative and systematic analysis of policy changes in social security systems for unemployed people in two major European countries with very different traditions of welfare. Focusing on the past 25 years the author shows that welfare policies have moved still further apart rather than converging. This does not bode well for those who dream of a harmonised European social policy system. Underlining the value of comparative research, this book is essential reading for sociologists and social policy experts and indeed, anyone concerned about the development of politics and policies in Europe.
