This volume provides an up-to-date account of developments in Europe across a range of policy fields, from labour markets to disability and poverty to health care.

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• An up-to-date account of a rapidly changing field.
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• Covers developments across a range of policy fields, from labour markets to disability and poverty to health care.
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• Situates debates about welfare convergence and divergence in a theoretical context.
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• Draws on sociological, social policy, political science and economic theoretical perspectives.
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• Written by acknowledged experts in the field.
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• Uses case studies of particular policy areas and regional developments.
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• Includes work on Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as on France and Germany.

Peter Taylor-Gooby is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Kent. His recent publications include European Welfare States Under Pressure (edited, 2001), Risk, Trust and Welfare (edited, 2000) and European Welfare Futures (co-authored with V. George and G. Bonoli, Polity, 2000). He has directed a number of ESRC and EU projects, including the Economic Beliefs and Behaviour programme, the Social Contexts and Responses to Risk network and the Welfare Reform and the Management of Societal Change programme.