While the first half of the 20th century was characterized by total war, the second half witnessed, at least in the Western world, a massive expansion of the modern welfare state. A growing share of the population was covered by ever more generous systems of social protection that dramatically...

Introduction : Federalism and the welfare state / Herbert Obinger, Francis G. Castles and Stephan Leibfried -- Australia : federal constraints and institutional innovations / Francis G. Castles and John Uhr -- Canada : nation-building in a federal welfare state / Keith Banting -- The United...