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  1. Home
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  3. Age, Class, Politics, and the Welfare State
  • Cited by 100
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
April 2010
Print publication year:
1989
Online ISBN:
9780511557781
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511557781
Subjects:
Political Theory, Organisational Sociology, Political Sociology, Politics and International Relations, Sociology
Series:
American Sociological Association Rose Monographs
Information

Book description

This analysis of the growth of welfare spending examines the relative impact of class and status groups versus demographic composition and political structures. Special attention is given to the role of the aged as representative of the importance of ascription and middle-class groups in welfare growth, and to the effect of welfare spending on income inequality. Aggregate cross-national data from the UN, ILO, and the World Bank are analysed and the conclusion is drawn that a large aged population, especially in combination with democratic political processes, is a direct and crucial influence on the level of welfare spending.

Reviews

‘This is a fine book and shows an analytic and authorial maturity that we would all do well to emulate. The results are striking, important, and persuasive even if distressing to those of us who want to believe that the right government can make a difference. Beyond the obvious readership of those interested in social welfare policy, anyone interested in the relations among economy, society, and polity would do well to read this book.’

Jennifer L. Hochschild Source: Political Science Quarterly

‘The theoretical issues involved in the topic are clearly laid out and pursued throughout the book in an informative way, and the implications of the empirical results for those issues are fully addressed. The conclusions offer a fresh perspective on the welfare state that emphasizes the joint importance of demographic and political factors.’

Robert Jackman

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