Abstract
The cultural foundations of welfare state policies and their contribution to the development of welfare states are gaining increasing attention in comparative welfare state research. The article introduces reflections on how the impact of cultural factors on the development of welfare state policies can be analysed. Three different levels be distinguished with regard to the relationship between welfare culture and welfare state policies: 1) values and models on which welfare state policies are based; 2) values and models for the welfare state that are dominant in the population; 3) discourses of social actors in relation to such values and models. Cultural change can contribute to change in welfare state policies according to two different types of processes. Moreover, when analysing the influence of globalisation on the development of welfare states it is important to analyse the controversial influence of neo-liberal values on welfare culture and the discourses established by political elites to propagate such values.
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