Investigating Welfare State Change: The 'Dependent Variable Problem' in Comparative Analysis

Contents:PART I: THE 'DEPENDENT VARIABLE PROBLEM' IN COMPARATIVE WELFARE STATE RESEARCH1. Comparative Welfare State Analysis and the 'Dependent Variable Problem'Jochen Clasen and Nico A. Siegel2. More than Data Questions and Methodological Issues: Theoretical Conceptualization and the Dependent Variable 'Problem' in the Study of Welfare ReformChristoffer Green-Pedersen3. Too Narrow and Too Wide at Once: The 'Welfare State' as Dependent Variable in Policy AnalysisGiuliano BonoliPART II: MEASURING AND ANALYSING 'WELFARE EFFORTS': SOCIAL EXPENDITURE REVISITED4. When (Only) Money Matters: The Pros and Cons of Expenditure AnalysisNico A. Siegel5. Social Expenditure Under Scrutiny: The Problems of Using Aggregate Spending Data for Assessing Welfare State DynamicsJohan De Deken and Bernhard Kittel6. Social Rights, Structural Needs and Social Expenditure: A Comparative Study of 18 OECD Countries 1960-2000Olli Kangas and Joakim PalmePART III: BEYOND SPENDING: WELFARE STATE GENEROSITY, SOCIAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS 7. Welfare State Generosity Across Space and TimeLyle Scruggs8. Levels and Levers of Conditionality: Measuring Change Within Welfare StatesJochen Clasen and Daniel Clegg9. Exploring Diversity: Measuring Welfare State Change with Fuzzy-Set MethodologyJon KvistPART IV: CAPTURING THE NATURE OF WELFARE STATE CHANGE10. Convergence in European Welfare State Analysis: Convergence of What?Julia S. O'Connor11. (In)Dependence as Dependent Variable: Conceptualizing and Measuring 'De-familization'Sigrid Leitner and Stephan Lessenich12. Pension Reform: Beyond Path Dependency?