This paper is about the relative impact of retirement and social class on individual attitudes towards welfare state policies in advanced industrial democracies. Which factor is more important in explaining individuals' social policy preferences: socio-economic background or retirement? How can...

There is a large and growing literature on welfare state attitudes, most of which is built on random-sample population surveys with standardised closed-question items. This article criticises the existing survey instruments, especially those that are used within the International Social Survey...

Abstract AbstractThis paper reflects on the literature on courts and politics in Europe and the United States. US-American Political Science has dealt for over fifty years with the role of courts and judges as political actors, whereas this perspective has only recently emerged in Europe. The...

The new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe achieved an economic and political tour de force on their way to EU accession. Their next challenge is the entry to the eurozone. Thus, the dynamics of public opinion toward the euro become crucial for political leaders. We test three...

Is there an antagonism between young and old in the electoral arena that could lead to the obstruction of welfare-state reforms? This article argues that this notion is a myth and lacks empirical evidence for the case of Germany. It is true that (a) there are imminent majorities of voters aged...

This paper examines the impact of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on the fiscal performance of EU member states. I will show that the process towards EMU and the accompanying Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) have increased fiscal performance in the EU member states. Small EU states have...

Dieser Aufsatz dokumentiert die Entwicklung der Politik der beruflichen Bildung seit den 1970er Jahren unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Rolle der Sozialpartner. Im Sinne eines qualitativ-historischen Ansatzes wird dabei auf umfangreiche Primaer- und Sekundaerquellen sowie Erkenntnisse aus...

Examining the occupational variation within non-standard employment, this book combines case studies and comparative writing to illustrate how and why alternative occupational employment patterns are formed. Through expert contributions, a framework is developed integrating explanations based on...

Where are the fields of consensus and divergence in the positions of social democratic parties in Europe concerning the European Economic and Social Model (EESM)? Building on the findings of a Europe-wide survey, this article analyses patterns of social and economic policy preferences along...