Fall/Winter Timetable

POL438H1S L5101

Graduate Course Code: JRA2321H1S L5101

Topics in Comparative Politics I

Welfare Capitalism in Western Europe

Themes

This course will present the characteristics and evolution of the so called European social models. We will review first the arguments and approaches of the varieties of capitalism literature and the theories of the welfare state. Secondly, there will be a brief introduction to the different social models in Europe. Thirdly, key welfare policies such as health care, education, unemployment insurance, family and income support, and retirement pensions will be explained. Fourthly, we will look in detail at the way governments in Scandinavia, Continental and Anglophone Europe, and the Mediterranean region address those policies. Finally, we will look at specific reforms in these welfare states, considering recent economic and political developments, i.e. multiculturalism and migration, the global financial crisis, or the role of the European Union in the provision of public services.
The course will draw on some basic economic ideas, but prior background in economics is not a prerequisite.