Retrenchment or renewal?  Welfare states in times of  economic crisis

Edited by Guðmundur Jónsson and Kolbeinn Stefánsson.
NordWel Studies in Historical Welfare State Research 6.
Helsinki 2013.  ISBN 978-952-10-8675-5

The economic crisis of 2008–2012 has been a serious challenge to welfare states and their financial, social and political foundations have been badly shaken. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of the crisis on social policy and welfare state development in Europe and North America. What has been the impact of the current crisis on social policy? Has the crisis heralded a new phase of entrenchment and austerity or are there signs of opportunities opening up for reform social reform? The varied national experiences of the crisis are examined and  put into a wider intellectual and historical context.

The book is a collection of 16 articles by authors from different disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences.  It contains both general surveys and country studies dealing with a range of issues, thus giving a broad view of the present crisis while also placing it in a historical context.

The book is published by the Nordic Centre of Excellence NORDWEL (The Nordic Welfare State – Historical Foundations and Future Challenges) in cooperation with two other Noridc centres of Exclellence, REASSESS and EDDA. The book is edited by Guðmundur Jónsson, professor of history at the University of Iceland and dr. Kolbeinn Stefánsson, sociologist at Statistics Iceland.

Retrenchment or renewal?  Welfare states in times of  economic crisis

Edited by Guðmundur Jónsson and Kolbeinn Stefánsson.
NordWel Studies in Historical Welfare State Research 6.
Helsinki 2013.  ISBN 978-952-10-8675-5

The economic crisis of 2008–2012 has been a serious challenge to welfare states and their financial, social and political foundations have been badly shaken. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of the crisis on social policy and welfare state development in Europe and North America. What has been the impact of the current crisis on social policy? Has the crisis heralded a new phase of entrenchment and austerity or are there signs of opportunities opening up for reform social reform? The varied national experiences of the crisis are examined and  put into a wider intellectual and historical context.

The book is a collection of 16 articles by authors from different disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences.  It contains both general surveys and country studies dealing with a range of issues, thus giving a broad view of the present crisis while also placing it in a historical context.

The book is published by the Nordic Centre of Excellence NORDWEL (The Nordic Welfare State – Historical Foundations and Future Challenges) in cooperation with two other Noridc centres of Exclellence, REASSESS and EDDA. The book is edited by Guðmundur Jónsson, professor of history at the University of Iceland and dr. Kolbeinn Stefánsson, sociologist at Statistics Iceland.