Most studies of local autonomy and local democracy fail to distinguish adequately between
the two terms. As a consequence, there is an assumed bilateral relationship between them …

Since the 1990s, many OECD countries have expanded their early childhood services and
developed more coherent and coordinated policies. Through this process, countries have …

A number of European countries have adopted paid child care leaves and allowances in the
name of parental choice and valuing care. We examine the origins and consequences of …

Published in 1998. Social provision in all European countries has faced increasing scrutiny
during the 1990s. Focusing on gendered aspects of welfare state restructuring, each …

The main goal of this article is to unravel the social distribution of childcare policies: Who
benefits from government investment in public childcare? The analysis complements earlier …

This study is one of the first to stem from the ILO InFocus Programme on Socio-Economic
Security, and is devoted to a topic that has received relatively little attention in mainstream …

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes that have taken place in the
central regulation of social care in Finland since the 1970s. The changes in vertical central …

The concept of the Scandinavian welfare municipality implied a homogeneous model of
local government, subjugated to central policies. The Scandinavian welfare municipality is …

This report reviews the current state of knowledge in comparative social care research. The
report covers comparative studies of two major areas of social care, childcare and care for …

Contemporary theories and typologies of welfare states in Western Europe assume that
social democratic parties are the engine behind progressive policies on gender roles and on …