SOCL 317: Comparative Social Policy (BMC)

This volume examines trends in inequality in the People's Republic of China. It contains findings on inequality nationwide, as well as within the rural and urban sectors, with an emphasis on public policy considerations.

This fascinating work provides an enlightening guided tour of the island of Cuba's historical, political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present.

In this edited volume, prominent Cuban economists and sociologists present a clear analysis of Cuba's economic and social circumstances and suggest steps for Cuba to reactivate economic growth and improve the welfare of its citizens. These authors focus first on trade, capital inflows, exchange rates, monetary and fiscal policy, and the agricultural sector. In a second section, a multidisciplinary team of sociologists and an economist map how reforms in economic and social policies have produced declines in the social standing of some specific groups and economic mobility for others.

Social Democracy has long been prominent in Nordic politics through the dominant parties and ideological hegemony of the centre-left. This book explores the growth of social democracy and the policy dilemmas that social democrats face today. It breaks new ground by relating recent literature on social democracy in Europe to Scandinavia.

The sequel to Nordic Social Policy, this work compares social policy and developments since the 1980s in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden with those in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and other Western European countries. The topics covered in the book include: income distribution, health, gender policies and gender equality, family patterns, and employment. In the context of globalization, ageing populations, changing employment patterns and issues around exclusion, the study offers a discussion of the historical development of European social policy and of its future direction.

The Handbook of Swedish Politics provides detailed accounts of policy making, governance, institutional arrangements, foreign relations, electoral behavior, the party system, the public administration, the constitutional framework, and the welfare state. The Handbook shows how many of the features that once were exceptional to Sweden, for example, the welfare state, the consensual policy making, the historical compromise between capital and labor, and the dominance of social democracy, are less prominent today compared to a few decades ago although they are still certainly present. Global forces, increasing affluence, and an ideological shift towards neo-liberalism have contributed to making Sweden more of an average European industrialized democracy.