The Comparative Political Economy of the Welfare State

This book provides a comprehensive explanation and application of time-series, pooled, event history, and Boolean methods to substantive problems of the welfare state.

Comparative research is exploding with alternative methodological and theoretical approaches. In this book, experts in each one of these methods provide a comprehensive explanation and application of time-series, pooled, event history and Boolean methods to substantive problems of the welfare state. Each section of the book focuses on a different method with a general introduction to the methods and then two papers using the method to deal with analysis concerning welfare state problems in a political economy perspective. Scholars concerned with methodology in this area cannot afford to overlook this book because it will help them keep up on proliferating methodologies. Graduate students in political science and sociology will find this book extremely useful in their careers.

List of contributors; List of tables and figures; Preface; 1. Methodological innovations in comparative political economy: an introduction Thomas Janoski and Alexander M. Hicks; Part I. Time-Series Analysis: 2. Introduction to time-series analysis Thomas Janoski and Larry W. Isaac; 3. Direct state intervention in the labour market: the explanation of active labour market policy from 1950 to 1988 in social democratic, conservative and liberal regimes Thomas Janoski; 4. Quality of quantity in comparative/historical analysis: temporally changing wage labour regimes in the United States and Sweden Larry W. Isaac, Susan M. Carlson and Mary P. Mathis; 5. The politics of public and private investment in Britain John R. Freeman and James E. Alt; Part II. Pooled Time-Series and Cross-Sectional Analysis: 6. Introduction to pooling Alexander M. Hicks; 7. The social democratic corporatist model of economic performance in short- and medium-run perspective Alexander M. Hicks; 8. National variation in the fortunes of labour: a pooled and cross-sectional analysis of the impact of economic crisis in the advanced capitalist nations Philip J. O'Connell; Part III. Event History Analysis: 9. Introduction to event history methods David Strang; 10. Welfare state development in a world system context: event history analysis of first social insurance legislation among 60 countries, 1880–1960 Chikako Usui; 11. British and French political institutions and the patterning of decolonisation David Strang; Part IV. Boolean Analysis: 12. Introduction to qualitative comparative analysis Charles C. Ragin; 13. A qualitative comparative analysis of pension systems Charles C. Ragin; 14. The politics of social security: on regressions, qualitative comparisons and cluster analysis Olli Kangas; 15. Conclusion: quo vadis political economy? Theory and methodology in the comparative analysis of the welfare state Thomas Janoski and Alexander M. Hicks; Author index; Subject index.

Comparative research is exploding with alternative methodological and theoretical approaches. In this book, experts in each one of these methods provide a comprehensive explanation and application of time-series, pooled, event history, and Boolean methods to substantive problems of the welfare state.