The Divided Welfare State: The Battle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States

Description

The Divided Welfare State is the first comprehensive political analysis of America's system of public and private social benefits. Everyone knows that the American welfare state is less expensive and extensive, later to develop and slower to grow, than comparable programs abroad. American social spending is as high as spending in many European nations. What is distinctive is that so many social welfare duties are handled by the private sector with government support. With historical reach and statistical and cross-national evidence, The Divided Welfare State demonstrates that private social benefits have not been shaped by public policy, but have deeply influenced the politics of public social programs - to produce a social policy framework whose political and social effects are strikingly different than often assumed. At a time of fierce new debates about social policy, this book is essential to understanding the roots of America's distinctive model and its future possibilities.

' ... the interest of the book lies not just in the elegant explanatory model that he has developed and the illuminations that flow from his use of political science concepts. It also has implications for the future of public policy not only in the United States.' Journal of Public Policy '... this is an essential read for scholars of welfare state development'. Political Studies Review 'Even if the author is hardly referring to international comparisons, this impressive work is no doubt a must-read for all European researchers working on social policy ... Thanks to massive historical evidence, abundant statistical and bibliographical material, a rigorous theoretical framework, and an original vision of what should be the agenda of social policy research, The Divided Welfare State is sometimes surprising, often captivating, and always stimulating. In short, it would not be exaggerated to conclude that Jacob S. Hacker has written an instant classic.' Journal of European Social Policy