Subtitle: Theory and Practice in the United States and Europe
Author: Edited by Nancy J. Hirschmann and Ulrike Liebert
Subject: Women's Studies/Sociology/Political Science/Public Policy
Paper ISBN 0-8135-2882-8
Pages: 331 pp., 18 tables
Series: Rutgers Series on Women and Politics
Description: Interdisciplinary feminist analyses of the social welfare state in the United States and Europe

"When welfare was created, it was envisioned as a means of helping those in poverty survive, yet many policy experts now argue that welfare has created a cycle of poverty that makes it impossible for people to move from the welfare rolls into the workplace. . . . This volume focuses on how women are affected by welfare programs and whether or not workfare and other kinds of programs will assist women and their families escape the poverty cycle. . . . Focusing on a variety of issues, these essays are thought-provoking and extremely well documented, which will encourage readers to look for additional information. An interesting view of welfare programs that will find a home in academic libraries."--Library Journal

The social welfare state is believed by many to be one of the great achievements of Western democracy of the twentieth century. It institutionalized for the first time a collective commitment to improving individual life chances and social well-being. However, as we move into a new century, the social welfare state everywhere has come under increasing pressure, raising serious doubts about its survival.

Featuring essays by experts from a variety of fields, including law, comparative politics, sociology, economics, cultural studies, philosophy, and political theory, Women and Welfare represents an interdisciplinary, multimethodological, and multicultural feminist approach to recent changes in the welfare regimes of Western industrialized nations. The broad perspective, from the philosophical to the quantitative, provides an excellent overview of the subject and the most recent scholarly literature. The volume offers a crosscultural analysis of welfare "reform" in the 1990s, visions of a "woman-friendly" welfare state, and theoretical and policy questions feminists and concerned others should be asking.

Contributors are

Susan J. Carroll
Kathleen J. Casey
Susan Christopherson
Lisa Dodson
Martha A. Fineman
Janet C. Gornick
Heidi Hartmann
Nancy J. Hirschmann
Eva Feder Kittay
Ulrike Liebert
Marcia K. Meyers
Joyce Marie Mushaben
Ann Shola Orloff
Joan C. Tronto
Hsiao-ye Yi

Nancy J. Hirschmann is a professor of government at Cornell University. Ulrike Liebert is a professor of comparative politics at the University of Bremen in Germany.