Policy Press

The last safety net

A handbook of minimum income protection in Europe

By Thomas Bahle, Vanessa Hubl and Michaela Pfeifer

Published

Sep 28, 2011

Page count

288 pages

ISBN

978-1847427250

Dimensions

240 x 172 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
The last safety net

Minimum income protection provides the last social safety net for people in need. The book provides a systematic comparative and longitudinal analysis of minimum income protection systems in 17 EU countries based on a newly developed dataset. Country-specific chapters providing institutional overviews are combined with comparative quantitative indicators on issues such as benefit levels, expenditures and beneficiaries. The book will be of major interest to researchers, scholars and experts in income protection, poverty and the welfare state.

"Navigating through the complex institutional puzzles which make up the last safety nets in the European countries, the authors offer detailed empirical information on the actual working of welfare states and on different conceptions of deservedness and social citizenship." Chiara Saraceno, Research Professor, Institute for Social Research, Berlin

Thomas Bahle is senior researcher at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). He has extensive experience in the comparative analysis of family policies, social services and minimum income protection.

Vanessa Hubl studied social sciences at the Universities of Mannheim and Utrecht. She currently works as a researcher at the MZES.

Michaela Pfeifer is a lecturer and researcher in sociology at the University of Siegen and PhD Candidate at the University of Mannheim.

Introduction; Defining and measuring minimum income protection; Welfare state contexts; Country analyses; Comparative analyses; Conclusion.