Administering welfare reform: International transformations in welfare governance

by Paul Henman (Editor), Menno Fenger (Editor)

Overview

While reforms of welfare policies have been widely analysed, the reform of welfare administration has received far less attention. Using empirical case studies, this book provides significant new insights into the way welfare administration is being internationally transformed. Particular attention is given to the effect on welfare clients, staff and agencies. "Administering welfare reform" presents a critical analysis of governance practices in welfare administration and examines shifts in the participants, practices and processes of welfare administration. It presents original empirical case studies that highlight the effects of reforming welfare governance on welfare subjects, staff and agencies and provides a much-needed international and comparative perspective of changing welfare governance. This book is aimed at scholars and advanced students of sociology, social policy, economics, public administration and management, as well as social policy practitioners and service delivery workers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781861346520
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	03/22/2006
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

Paul Henman lectures in social policy at the University of Queensland, Australia. He has a long-standing interest in the inter-relationship between policy making, public administration and new information technologies. Menno Fenger is Assistant Professor in Public Administration at Erasmus UniversityRotterdam, The Netherlands. His research focuses on stability and change in public policy, specifically in the field of social policy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Administering wefare reform ~ Menno Fenger and Paul Henman; Welfare reform as governance reform: the prospects of governmentality perspective ~ Paul Henman; Part One: Participants: reforming the agents of welfare delivery; State-third sector partnership frameworks: from administration to participation ~ Deena White; Shifts in welfare governance: the state, market and non-profit sector in four European countries ~ Menno Fenger; From charity to 'not for profit': changes in the role and structure of voluntary social service agencies ~ Jo Barnes; Part Two: Practices: the welfare governance of street-level practices; Ending welfare as we know it: welfare reform in the United States ~ Joel F. Handler; The new governance of Australian welfare: street-level contigencies ~ Cosmo Howard; The administration of transformation: a case study of implementing welfare reform in the UK ~ Sharon Wright; Part Three: Processes: the changing spaces of welfare governance; Administering global welfare: public management, governance and the new role of INGOs ~ Gaby Ramia; The fight against unemployment as a main concern of European social policy: the implications of a new, local-level approach ~ Carla Valadas; From government fragmentation to local governance: welfare reforms and lost opportunities in Italy ~ Yuri Kazepov and Angela Genova; Administering welfare reforms: reflections ~ Paul Henman and Menno Fenger.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This book fills a crucial gap in the literature on welfare reform by analysing international transformations in welfare governance and administration. Anyone interested in understanding the practical side of welfare reform and its complex interconnections with the structure and outcomes of welfare policy will benefit from reading this book." Professor Neal Wallace, Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University, US

Editorial Reviews

"Presents a critical analysis of governance practices in welfare administration; examines shifts in participants, practices and processess of welfare administration; presents original empirical case studies that highlight the effects of reforming welfare governance on welfare subjects, staff and agencies; and provides an international and comparative perspective on changing welfare governance." International Social Security Review "a strong collection ... useful addition for libraries" Public Administration, Vol. 85 (4) 2007

" 'Administering Welfare Reform' provides a valuable comparative analysis of the impact of changing welfare governance on the structure and delivery of public services. ... the book offers important insights into how multi-agency governance, marketisation and managerialism have impacted on the participants, practices and processes at the heart of the new welfare state." Social Policy, Vol. 36 (4) 2007

"This book provides interesting international comparative data and stresses very convincingly the need to study the transformations in welfare governance and administration in order to understand its role in the nature, practices and effects of the welfare state. It presents a promising research agenda." Journal of Contemporary European Research, Vol 4:1 2007

From the Publisher