The objective of this report is to compare and contrast anti-discrimination law in the 28 EU Member States and EU candidate countries (namely the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey), as comprehensively described in the annually updated country reports written by...

Do preferences for income inequality differ systematically between the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western established market economies? This paper analyses 1999 data from a large international survey to address this question. In particular, we examine whether...

The title of this contribution is a question with a double meaning: On the one hand it refers to the method, on the other hand it refers to the results of German unification. After a preview of recent evaluations we discuss comparisons of the Federal Republic and the GDR from the 1960s, 1970s,...

This paper deals with the issue of poverty in a comparative and multidimensional perspective. Based on Townsend’s concept of relative deprivation, we analyse what people can afford compared to their perceived necessities for decent living. We will analyse definitions of living standard and...

This paper deals with the problems of social acceptance and social support of the welfare state. It starts with a brief presentation of approaches which infer in an immediate way from the self-interest of the citizens as welfare beneficiaries (‘beneficial involvement’) to the question of...

Support for economic reforms has often shown puzzling dynamics: there are many examples of reforms that started off successfully but nevertheless lost public support, and vice versa. We show that learning dynamics can rationalize this apparent paradox, the reason being that the process of...

A primordial challenge to the welfare state? -- The politics of resentment : xenophobia and the welfare state -- Trust in diverse societies -- Welfare state regimes as a regime for building trust? : contextualizing attitudes -- To belong or not to belong : incorporation and integration policies...