Frontmatter

Abstract

The Italian welfare state in a European perspective is the first book, published in English, to explore the evolution of the Italian welfare state in the decades since the ‘Trente Glorieuses’. It offers an overview and analysis of the Italian situation based on an in-depth study of the main social policy fields, a detailed analysis of the connection between policies and their outputs/outcomes, and a comparative perspective framing the Italian case within the European context. It takes also a look at the Italian welfare state as a whole since the 2008 economic crisis and austerity. In particular the book is divided in two parts. The first part focuses mainly on different policy fields (pensions, employment policies, social assistance, social care, health care, education, higher education and family taxation policies), after an introductory chapter which analyses social inequalities and processes of dualization arising from the mismatch between the strengthening of ‘new’ and ‘old’ social risks and the absence of adequate policy responses and adaptations. The second part of the book consists of three chapters which adopt a view cutting across policy fields, focusing on the increasing influence of the European Union in shaping national policy-making; the presence of territorial inequalities in access to welfare provision; the impact of the crisis and the consequent austerity measures on social inequalities. The conclusions of the book interpret the findings of the entire study, focusing on common or divergent patterns in various policy fields and on the comparative international perspective.