Social Europe. Living standards and welfare states

Abstract:
This book arises from a three year programme of research on the Dynamics of Social Change in Europe. It aims to review the findings of the programme and to draw wider conclusions about life chances and welfare regimes in Europe.

The work is organised over eleven chapters. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, chapter two discusses patterns of family living across Europe and how they might impact upon the experience of poverty and hardship. Chapter three explores the ascent to adulthood and how differing social environments might produce variations in this transition. The importance of family structure and its relationship to employment prospects is the focus of chapter four. The variety of employment types, be they standard or non-standard, are explored in chapter five. Labour market mobility is a central plank of EU employment policy and chapter six explores this aspect in depth. Chapter seven addresses the persistent European unemployment problem as it has developed across different welfare state regime types and its relationship to income levels. Country variations in income inequality and income mobility are the focus of chapter eight. The dynamics of income poverty in its various aspects are analysed in chapter nine. The threats to society posed by income poverty - through its consequent creation of lifestyle deprivation and social exclusion - are examined in chapter ten. The concluding chapter assesses the value of the research undertaken and its potential for extension to other areas of social sciences.

The book will interest scholars, students and researchers in social sciences especially those engaged in the fields of family, employment, income or social exclusion.

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Patterns of Family Living
3. Transitions to Adulthood
4. Family Effects on Employment
5. Standard and Non-Standard Employment: Gender and Modernisation in European Labour Markets
6. Labour Market Mobility Patterns
7. Unemployment and Welfare Regimes: Measurement, Search Activity and Income Distribution
8. Income and Patterns of Inequality
9. The Dynamics of Income Poverty
10. Deprivation and Social Exclusion
11. Conclusion: Micro-Dynamics and Public Regulation