Towards a Social Investment Welfare State? : Ideas, Policies and Challenges

This book questions whether the recently promoted European 'social investment' strategy is able to regenerate the welfare state, promote social inclusion, create more and better jobs, and help address the challenges posed by the economic crisis, globalisation, ageing and climate change. To assess the diversity, achievements, shortcomings and potentials of social investment policies, it brings together some of the best social policy scholars and well-known policy experts, connecting academic and policy debates around the future of the welfare state. Supported by the Nordic Center of Excellence NordWel and the EU funded Network of Excellence RECWOWE (Reconciling Work and Welfare). TOWARDS A SOCIAL INVESTMENT WELFARESTATE? Contents List of tables List of figures List of acronyms Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Beyond the welfare state as we knew it? Part I: Towards a new social policy paradigm Two or three waves of welfare state transformation? Redesigning citizenship regimes after neoliberalism Part II: Mapping the development of social investment policies Patterns of public policy in the OECD Social investment or recommodification? Part III: Assessing the social investment policies Promoting social investment through work–family policies Active labour market policy and social investment Do social investment policies produce more and better jobs? Social investment in the globalising learning economy Part IV: Meeting the challenges ahead? Social investment in the ageing populations of Europe The post-crisis social investment welfare state Climate policy and the social investment approach From the Lisbon Strategy toEUROPE 2020 A social investment paradigm? Index This edited volume questions whether the recently promoted European 'social investment' strategy is able to regenerate the welfare state, promote social inclusion, create more and better jobs, and help address the challenges posed by the economic crisis, globalisation, ageing and climate change This book maps out the contours of the European 'social investment' strategy, both at the ideational level and in terms of the policies implemented throughout Europe. It will appeal to both social policy scholars and policy experts.