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This book presents an in-depth analysis of social policy reactions to international economic shocks in four different welfare states, over a 40-year period. It reveals how expansion and retrenchment are shaped by domestic politics and existing welfare state institutions.

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Introduction 1. The Politics of Crisis Response 2. How the Countries Compare 3. The Oil Shocks of 1973 and 1979: Keynesianism and Beyond 4. Recession in the 1990s: The Resistible Rise of Neoliberalism 5. Managing the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and its Aftermath: The Role of Social Policy Conclusion

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"The great virtue of this book is that it brings together good empirical evidence and analysis of how welfare states respond to and manage crises over time, from a variety of settings." - Peter Taylor-Gooby, Professor of Social Policy, University of Kent, UK

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Peter Starke is a Political Scientist at the University of Bremen, Germany. Recent publications include Radical Welfare State Retrenchment: A Comparative Analysis.

Alexandra Kaasch is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Sheffield, UK. Previously she held a post-doctoral research position at the University of Bremen, Germany.

Franca van Hooren is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in Comparative Social Policy at the University of Bremen, Germany. She obtained her PhD from the European University Institute, Italy.

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