A major objective of social policy in Western-European countries during the last decade has been the redistribution of work and caring roles between mean and women. This aim has inspired social scientists to investigate the conditions for and the mechanisms by which such a role-change could be...

Theoretically deduced concern about a declining legitimacy of the welfare state has been expressed regularly over the last thirty years. However, in that period empirical studies have repeatedly shown a permanent and substantial popular supportfor welfare. This naismatch might be due to two...