Dismantling the welfare state?
Subtitle: Reagan, Thatcher, and the politics of retrenchment
By: Paul Pierson.
Series: Cambridge studies in comparative politics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Cambridge, England; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: Welfare state; United States -- Social policy -- 1980-1993; Great Britain -- Social policy -- 1979-
Description: This book offers a careful analysis of the politics of social policy in an era of austerity and conservative governance. Focusing on the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Pierson provides a compelling explanation for the welfare state's durability and for the few occasions in which each government was able to achieve significant cutbacks.

Pierson's account draws on recent work in "historical institutionalism" and rational-choice theory to fashion an important argument about contemporary policy-making. The politics of retrenchment, he argues, is fundamentally different from that of welfare state expansion. The programs of the modern welfare state - the "policy legacies" of previous governments - generally proved resistant to reform.

Hemmed in by the political supports that have developed around mature social programs, conservative opponents of the welfare state were successful only when they were able to divide the supporters of social programs, compensate those negatively affected, or hide what they were doing from potential critics. This book will be of interest to those in the fields of comparative public policy and political economy as well as to those concerned with the development of the modern welfare state.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.