This is a comparative handbook and analysis of the social conditions and institutional contexts in the 'new' and 'old' member states of the enlarged EU- 28.

Jens Alber is Professor of Sociology at the Free University Berlin and Director of the Unit "Inequality and social integration" at the Social Science Center, Berlin, which chaired the international consortium that analyzed the European Quality of Life Survey. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the field of comparative political sociology.

Tony Fahey is Professor in the Social Policy Research Division in the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin. He has published extensively on the family, religion, demography, the elderly, housing and various aspects of social policy.

Chiara Saraceno is Full Professor of Sociology at the University of Turin, Italy and Chair of the PhD programme in Comparative Social Research. She has written extensively on family changes and family policies, on poverty and social policies, on gender and women's issues.

Part 1: Fertility, families and households Part 2: Employment and working conditions Part 3: Material living conditions Part 4: Social capital and social cohesion Part 5: Processes of Europeanization