"Williamson and Pampel make an obvious contribution to the academic
literature...."--Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
"Williamson and Pampel are to be congratulated for achieving
simultaneous breakthroughs in the comparative study of modern
social policies. Creatively synthesizing quantitative and
comparative historical methodologies, they also bring Third World
and advanced-industrial nations into a common framework of
analysis. An extraordinary achievement--because recent comparative
histories have focused only on highly industrial nations. This book
is also theoretically
creative, building upon and synthesizing theoretical ideas from
several schools of thought. I expect Old-Ave Security in
Comparative Perspective to attract wide interest among scholars,
students, and
public policy analysts."--Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
"A major accomplishment! Old Age Security in Comparative
Perspective is tightly argued, scholarly in its detail, but always
lucid and clear to read. The analytical structure of the book is
exemplary. By combining carefully constructed case studies with
confirmatory quantitative analysis, the authors go a long way to
achieving the methodological synthesis that many have called for
but few have achieved. This is the first book to systematically
incorporate the developing countries of the Third World into an
analysis of the modern welfare state. By so doing, Williamson and
Pampel extend the boundaries of conventional welfare state studies
dramatically. The
combination of theory, empirical elegance, and lucid writing will
make this a text that will stand up well in advanced undergraduate
and graduate level courses in political sociology, social policy,
and social gerontology."--John Myles, Florida State University
"Williamson and Pampel convincingly squelch theories of the welfare
state that argue that a single variable such as the strength of
organized labor can adequately predict either the levels of
spending or the quality of social programs. Rather their insightful
and detailed analysis of both industrialized and Third World
nations suggests that the most fruitful line of inquiry for future
research on the welfare state lies in explaining alternate pathways
and
variations in outcomes."--Jill Quadagno, Florida State
University
"The U.S. economists who advise emerging East European nations and
Latin American countries on their old age policies should read this
book. It offers a sophisticated understanding of how old age
programs assuage class divisions and, in other nations, yield to
the ethnic cleavages by providing individual-based
pensions."--Journal of Economic Literature
"Williamson and Pampel make an obvious contribution to the academic
literature...."--Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
"Williamson and Pampel are to be congratulated for achieving
simultaneous breakthroughs in the comparative study of modern
social policies. Creatively synthesizing quantitative and
comparative historical methodologies, they also bring Third World
and advanced-industrial nations into a common framework of
analysis. An extraordinary achievement--because recent comparative
histories have focused only on highly industrial nations. This book
is also theoretically
creative, building upon and synthesizing theoretical ideas from
several schools of thought. I expect Old-Ave Security in
Comparative Perspective to attract wide interest among scholars,
students, and
public policy analysts."--Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
"A major accomplishment! Old Age Security in Comparative
Perspective is tightly argued, scholarly in its detail, but always
lucid and clear to read. The analytical structure of the book is
exemplary. By combining carefully constructed case studies with
confirmatory quantitative analysis, the authors go a long way to
achieving the methodological synthesis that many have called for
but few have achieved. This is the first book to systematically
incorporate the developing countries of the Third World into an
analysis of the modern welfare state. By so doing, Williamson and
Pampel extend the boundaries of conventional welfare state studies
dramatically. The
combination of theory, empirical elegance, and lucid writing will
make this a text that will stand up well in advanced undergraduate
and graduate level courses in political sociology, social policy,
and social gerontology."--John Myles, Florida State University
"Williamson and Pampel convincingly squelch theories of the welfare
state that argue that a single variable such as the strength of
organized labor can adequately predict either the levels of
spending or the quality of social programs. Rather their insightful
and detailed analysis of both industrialized and Third World
nations suggests that the most fruitful line of inquiry for future
research on the welfare state lies in explaining alternate pathways
and
variations in outcomes."--Jill Quadagno, Florida State
University
"The U.S. economists who advise emerging East European nations and
Latin American countries on their old age policies should read this
book. It offers a sophisticated understanding of how old age
programs assuage class divisions and, in other nations, yield to
the ethnic cleavages by providing individual-based
pensions."--Journal of Economic Literature
"An insightful, fresh look at the origins of today's income
protection programs for the elderly."--James H. Schulz, Brandeis
University
"Williamson and Pampel break new ground in the understanding of
public pensions and other age-related programs and enactments. They
succeed admirably in demonstrating the utility of certain models of
policy development, while providing reasons for questioning the
utility of others. Their discussion sparkles with insight, and is
richly informed by the relevant literature. The book is a tour de
force, and appears destined to leave a lasting
impression."--Henry Pratt, Wayne State University
"This book represents that rarest of achievements: a rigorously
theory-driven combination of historical case studies and
quantitative cross-national analysis. By including case studies of
three Third World countries, it is also a breakthrough towards a
truly global view of social policy."--Martin Kohli, Freie
Universität Berlin
"This is probably the only available systematic analysis of Western
Europe and developing countries that exists in the literature. It
is a brilliant attempt to develop a common framework for
comparative analysis across space and time. It is 'must' reading
for anyone interested in the development of the welfare
state."--Martin Rein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"The book puts an inexorable claim on our attention as teachers and
researchers of comparative political economy, political sociology,
and the welfare state."--American Journal of Sociology
"This outstanding book deserves the attention of a broader audience
than welfare state scholars..."--National Political Science Review
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