`An impressive editorial feat which attests to the potential for well-structured and consistently integrated comparative social analysis providing, not only a cogent evaluation of the ironies of current policy developments, but also asserting that economic and political configurations may well ensure that "welfare states in transition" could retain the most positive and popularly valued elements of their "aquis"' - British Journal of Sociology

Foreword - Dharam GhaiAfter the Golden Age? Welfare State Dilemmas in a Global Economy - G[sl]osta Esping-AndersenPART ONE: DECLINE OR RENEWAL IN THE ADVANCED WELFARE STATES?The Scandinavian Welfare States - John D Stephens Achievements, Crisis and ProspectsWelfare States without Work - G[sl]osta Esping-Andersen The Impasse of Labour Shedding and Familialism in Continental European Social PolicyNeeds-Based Strategies of Social Protection in Australia and New Zealand - Francis G CastlesWhen Markets Fail - John Myles Social Welfare in Canada and the United StatesPART TWO: EMERGING NEW WELFARE STATES?Options for Social Policy in Latin America - Evelyne Huber Neoliberal versus Social Democratic ModelsThe East Asian Welfare States - Roger Goodman and Ito Peng Peripatetic Learning, Adaptive Change and Nation-BuildingSocial Protection in Central and Eastern Europe - Guy Standing A Tale of Slipping Anchors and Torn Safety NetsCONCLUSIONPositive-Sum Solutions in a World of Trade-Offs? - G[sl]osta Esping-Andersen