This book surveys the creation and existence of the welfare state in the developed economies, analyzes ways in which problems have emerged, and suggests possibilities for reform.

Contributions by: S N. Eisenstadt, Peter Flora, Brian Abel-Smith, F X. Kaufman, Arthur Seldon, Shirley Williams, Raphaella Bilski Ben-Hur, Francois Bourricaud, Morris Janowitz, Martin Rein, Ralph M. Kramer, John Eivind Kolberg, Heinz Kienzi, Walter R¸egg, Rei Shiratori, S M. Miller, Jacob Vedel-Peterson, Nicole Questiaux, Rivka Bar-Yosef, Yair Aharoni, Baruch Levy, Elad Peled, Yael Atzmon^R