Handbook on the Political Economy of Social Policy

The Handbook explores the key theoretical standpoints for understanding how social policies are introduced and/or reformed. These include historical institutionalism, the role of ideas, the influence of political parties and of political attitudes and preferences. The contributors also discuss key methodological approaches for understanding how social policies are adopted and how they change - from the case-study approach to more comparative approaches.

Analysis of the applications of political economy approaches within social policy covers housing, welfare, labour relations and pensions as well as examining regional cases from across the globe. Offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship on the political economy of social policy, this Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and students of social policy, welfare state analysis, area studies, political science, political economy and sociology.