In Europe and around the world, social policies and welfare services have faced increasing pressure in recent years as a result of political, economic, and social changes. Just as Europe was a leader in the development of the welfare state and the supportive structures of corporatist politics from the 1920s onward, Europe in particular has experienced stresses from globalization and striking innovation in welfare policies. While debates in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France often attract wide international attention, smaller European countries-Belgium, Denmark, Austria, or Finland-are often overlooked. This volume seeks to correct this unfortunate oversight as these smaller countries serve as models for reform, undertaking experiments that only later gain the attention of stymied reformers in the larger countries.

In Europe and around the world, social policies and welfare services have faced increasing pressure in recent years as a result of political, economic, and social changes. Just as Europe was a leader in the development of the welfare state and the supportive structures of corporatist politics from the 1920s onward, Europe in particular has experienced stresses from globalization and striking innovation in welfare policies. While debates in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France often attract wide international attention, smaller European countries—Belgium, Denmark, Austria, or Finland—are often overlooked. This volume seeks to correct this unfortunate oversight as these smaller countries serve as models for reform, undertaking experiments that only later gain the attention of stymied reformers in the larger countries.

List of Tables and Figures
Preface

Introduction: Social Policy in the Smaller EU States
Gary B. Cohen, Ben W. Ansell, Robert Henry Cox, and Jane Gingrich

SECTION I: THE SOCIAL INVESTMENT AGENDA: FROM IDEAS TO POLICY?

Chapter 1. How Globalization and the European Union are Changing European Welfare States
Robert Henry Cox

Chaper 2. Family Policies, Education, and Female Labor Market Participation in Advanced Capitalist Democracies
Robin Stryker, Scott R. Eliason, Eric Tranby, and William Hamilton

Chapter 3. Double Transformation: How to Adjust to Institutional Social Policy?
Juho Saari

Chapter 4. The Social Investment State: A New Trend in Social Expenditure or Merely a Popular Political Discourse?
Jorma Sipilä

SECTION II: INTEREST COALITIONS, IDEAS, AND SOCIAL REFORM

Chapter 5. Multiple Market Prespcriptions: The Diverse Models of Health Care Reform in Sweden
Jane Gingrich

Chapter 6. Austrian Social Policy Reform in the Era of Integration and Rising Populism
Reinhard Heinisch

Chapter 7. Of Firms and Flexibility : The Dynamics of Collective Bargainning Reform in Spain and Portugal
Sara Watson

SECTION III: DIVERGING INSTITUTIONAL LEGACIES, IDEAS, AND SOCIAL REFORM

Chapter 8. Social Policy  Change "Under the Radar Screen": Health Care Reforms in Seven Small Countries
Kieke G. H. Okma, Luca Crivelli, Toni Ashton, Iva Bolgani, Tsung-Me Cheng, David Chinitz, Meng-Kin Lim, Hans Maarse, Rachel Meislin, and Tim Tenbensel

Chapter 9. Humboldt Humbled? The Germanic University System in Comparative Perspective
Ben W. Ansell

Chapter 10. Beyond the Welfare State: Consumer Protection and Risk Perceptions in the European Union and Austria
Paulette Kurzer

Conclusion: Ideas and Social Reform
Robert Henry Cox

Notes on Contributors
Index