Praise for the First Edition:`A clear and concise introduction to comparative social policy. It provides students with a framework in which to analyze the British welfare regime and to compare it with those developed and developing elsewhere' - Hilary Graham, Professor of Applied Social Studies, University of WarwickIn this extensively revised Second Edition, the British case is related to the experiences of the United States of America, Sweden, Germany and Ireland, and set in the context of policy issues within the European Union. This textbook provides a critical introduction to British and comparative social policy. Drawing on the comparative analysis of welfare regimes, the book show how the welfare systems of individual countries can only be understood thorugh exploring the wider global context. The chapters highlight the richness, complexity and dynamics of welfare regimes in different countries, while ar the same time considering shared features and trends.This text is a course book for The Open University course, Family Life and Social Policy (D311).

Comparing Welfare States? - Allan Cochrane, John Clarke and Sharon Gewirtz
The Construction of the British Welfare State 1945 - 1975 - John Clarke, Mary Langan and Fiona Williams
Remaking Welfare - John Clarke, Mary Langan and Fiona Williams
The British welfare regime in the 1980s and 1990s
US Welfare - John Clarke
Variations on the Liberal Regime
Germany - Lynne Poole
A Conservative Regime in Crisis?
Sweden - Norman Ginsburg
The Social Democratic Case
Ireland - Eugene McLaughlin
From Catholic Corporatism to Social Partnership
Looking for a European Welfare State - Allan Cochrane, John Clarke and Sharon Gewirtz