Globalization and the Future of the Welfare State. Edited by
Miguel Glatzer and Dietrich Rueschemeyer. Pittsburgh: University of
Pittsburgh Press, 2005. 288p. $29.95.
Is globalization a causal factor in the development of welfare states?
If globalization does matter, does it constrain or facilitate the creation
and expansion of social programs? If globalization has a positive effect
on welfare states, which conditions prevent or enable increases in social
spending and broadening of coverage? These questions are the focus of
Miguel Glatzer and Dietrich Rueschemeyer's edited volume. These
editors, who coauthored the introduction and conclusion, carefully
selected studies by a group of scholars who are all both experts in the
study of welfare states and masters of a specific geographic region or
country. The studies include Western Europe (by John D. Stephens), Eastern
Europe (Mitchell A. Orenstein and Martine R. Haas), Southern Europe
(Miguel Glatzer), Latin America (Evelyne Huber), Russia (Linda J. Cook),
and South Korea (Ho Keun Song and Kyung Zoon Hong). In addition to these
regional or country case studies, there is a variable-oriented chapter by
Geoffrey Garrett and David Nickerson that explores correlations between
globalization and social spending across a large number of countries.
Since they provided the authors with a limited common framework, giving
them sufficient room to explore their own ideas, the editors achieved a
good balance between coherence and diversity. All the chapters are of high
quality, and each provides a particular insight into the relationship
between globalization and welfare state development.