Acclaim for previous edition: "Students thirsty to understand the wider dimensions of welfare state policy would do well to turn to Beyond the Welfare State? Its sweep is wide, it is well-ordered and up to date. Most welcome of all, it is clear." Times Higher Education Supplement Acclaim for this edition: "Beyond the Welfare State? draws on a careful and exhaustive review of both the theoretical literature and empirical evidence on the contemporary Western welfare state and social democracy. Pierson's overview of the forces that propelled comparative welfare state development, crisis, and change is masterful, critical, and balanced. Packed with fresh insights and sharp reasoning, the book manages to pull together what it is important to know in the field of comparative welfare state studies. It is just about the best review of the literature currently available – a perfect text for upper-level university courses." Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Pompeu Fabra University "Given the complexity of modern welfare states and the plethora of opinion surrounding them, attempting to give a theoretically rich and empirically comprehensive accounting of both the state of contemporary welfare states and the state of theory about them seems an impossible task. Yet this is exactly what Christopher Pierson has achieved. Combining a detailed multi-country historical overview with a theoretical summary that is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the real "state" of the modern welfare state, Beyond the Welfare State? is a tour de force of comparative analysis." Mark Blyth, John Hopkins University