"This is an important and highly readable book and it marks the first time that workfare programmes have been collated in such an easily accessible format." European Access Plus "... an excellent edited collection which provides insightful discussions of workfare policies and programs in the United States and several European countries." Journal of Progressive Human Services "An excellent volume. ... Read moreThe editors have furnished us with a much-needed account of contemporary workfare arrangements in key welfare regimes." Journal of Social Policy "... an essential resource for students and others in social policy." Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare "... highly commendable ... It advances the comparative study of social assistance." European Journal of Social Work "A first and a must on work and welfare in comparative perspective." Stephan Leibfried, Director, Centre for Social Policy Research, Bremen University "'Workfare', 'activation', 'insertion' ... despite differing national titles, a significant shift in policy is underway. This book presents the first systematic cross-national survey of these new programmes, revealing their commonalities and diversity. More than that, it develops an original framework for making sense of the active welfare states that are emerging." Ian Gough, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath "This book makes a point that is new and very important. Social policies for able bodied adults are undergoing vast changes in the Western world. Our US experience is not unique, although differences in tone and purposes of national policies, as this book shows, are very great." Richard Nathan, The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government Show Less