Lessons From Europe? : What Americans Can Learn From European Public Policies

What can American policymakers learn from the experiences of European democracies? While we can look to our own history and to the ideas emanating from our own public sphere, by looking abroad we can also learn lessons from European policies - from both those that have proven successful and those that have failed. The contributors in this volume examine the ways our European allies have dealt with issues such as rising healthcare and pension costs, large-scale immigration, childcare and work-life balance, and climate change, and ask whether such policies might prove effective in the U.S. context. Brief and engaging, R. Daniel Kelemen's Lessons from Europe? What Americans Can Learn from European Public Policies is an ideal supplement for comparative public policy courses and would add a provocative comparative component to U.S. public policy courses. What can American policymakers learn from the experiences of European democracies in confronting our common policy challenges? We can look to our own history and to the ideas emanating from our own public sphere, but by looking abroad, we can learn how our European allies have dealt with such issues as rising healthcare and pension costs, large-scale immigration, childcare and work-life balance, and climate change. Simply put, we can learn lessons from European policies that have proven both successful and from approaches that have failed. The contributors in this volume ask whether such policies might prove effective in the U.S. context, as well as what pitfalls we might avoid. Chapters have been written by policy area experts and are geared for an upper-level undergraduate audience and set up as a series of engaging case studies. At just 180 pages, this is an ideal supplemental volume for comparative public policy courses and would add an ideal comparative component to upper-level U.S. public policy courses Introduction : Why Look To Europe For Lessons? / R. Daniel Kelemen -- Gender, Employment, And Parenthood : The Consequences Of Work Family Policies / Janet C. Gornick And Ariane Hegewisch -- The Role Of Regulation In Health Care Policy / Lawrence D. Brown -- Pensions : Who Is Learning From Whom? / Mitchell A. Orenstein -- Labor Market Policy : Toward A Flexicurity Model In The United States? / Tobias Schulze-cleven -- Immigration Policy : A Transatlantic Comparison / Martin A. Schain -- Climate Change Policy : Progress And Persistence / Frank J. Convery -- Urban Transport : Promoting Sustainability In Germany / Ralph Buehler And John Pucher -- Political Democracy : Consensus Building Through Democracy In Europe / Steven Hill -- Transatlantic Lesson-drawing : Utopia, Road To Ruin, Or Source Of Practical Advice? / R. Kent Weaver. R. Daniel Kenelmen, Rutgers University, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. LESSONS FROM EUROPE?-FRONT COVER LESSONS FROM EUROPE? CONTENTS PREFACE ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: WHY LOOK TO EUROPE FOR LESSONS? CHAPTER 2: GENDER, EMPLOYMENT, AND PARENTHOOD: THE CONSEQUENCES OF WORK–FAMILY POLICIES CHAPTER 3: THE ROLE OF REGULATION IN HEALTH CARE POLICY CHAPTER 4: PENSIONS: WHO IS LEARNING FROM WHOM? CHAPTER 5: LABOR MARKET POLICY: TOWARD A “FLEXICURITY” MODEL IN THE UNITED STATES? CHAPTER 6: IMMIGRATION POLICY: A TRANSATLANTIC COMPARISON CHAPTER 7: CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY: PROGRESS AND PERSISTENCE CHAPTER 8: URBAN TRANSPORT: PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY IN GERMANY CHAPTER 9: POLITICAL DEMOCRACY: CONSENSUS BUILDING THROUGH DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE CHAPTER 10: TRANSATLANTIC LESSON DRAWING: UTOPIA, ROAD TO RUIN, OR SOURCE OF PRACTICAL ADVICE? INDEX Using a series of engaging case studies written by policy area experts, this volume asks whether European policies might prove effective in the U.S. context, as well as what pitfalls might be avoided.