A state-of-the-art assessment of welfare provision, policy and reform at national and at EU level which spans the whole of Europe - East, West and Central. Uniquely broad-ranging in scope, and covering the latest research findings and theoretical debates, it provides a genuinely comparative overview text for students of 21st century Europe.

Colin Hay is Professor of Political Analysis and Co-Director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Sheffield, UK.

Introduction
European Welfare Capitalism in Good Times and Bad
Varieties of European Welfare Capitalism
Globalization, Europeanization and the Welfare State
Competitiveness and the Welfare State
European Integration and Welfare Capitalism
Convergence and Divergence in European Welfare Trajectories
European Welfare Capitalism in Hard Times.