Minimum Income Protection in Flux [Hardcover]

The current economic crisis has presented itself as a formidable challenge to the welfare states of Europe. It is more relevant than ever to ask: do existing minimum income protection schemes succeed in adequately protecting citizens, be it whether they are excluded from work, working, retired, or having children? Drawing on in-depth and up-to-date institutional data from across Europe and the US, this volume details the reality of minimum income protection policies over time. Including contributions from leading scholars in the field, each chapter provides a systematic cross-national analysis of minimum income protection policies, developing concrete policy guidance on an issue at the heart of the European debate.A New Dawn for Minimum Income Protection?; I.Marx  & K.Nelson Struggle for Life: Social Assistance Benefits, 1992-2009; N.Van Mechelen  & S.Marchal Mind the Gap: Net Incomes of Minimum Wage Workers in the EU and the US; I.Marx, S.Marchal  & B.Nolan Child Poverty as a Government Priority: Child Benefit Packages for Working Families, 1992-2009; N.Van Mechelen  & J.Bradshaw Minimum Income Protection for Europe's Elderly. What and How Much has been Guaranteed During the 2000s?; T.Goedem? From Universalism to Selectivity: Old Wine in New Bottles for Child Benefits in Europe and Other Countries; T.Ferrarini , K.Nelson  & H.H??g Categorical Differentiation in the Light of Deservingness Perceptions: Institutional Structures of Minimum Income Protection for Immigrants and for the Disabled; V.Hubl  & M.Pfeifer Origin and Genesis of Activation Policies in 'Old' Europe: Toward a Balanced Approach?; J.T.Weishaupt Social Assistance Governance in Europe. Towards a Multi-level Perspective; Y.Kazepov  & E.Barberis Minimum Social Protection in the CEE/CIS Countries. The Failure of a Model; J.Bradshaw , E.Mayhew  & G.Alexander The EU and Minimum Income Protection: ClarifyilSã