Rich Democracies: Political Economy, Public Policy, and PerformanceUniversity of California Press, 2002 M07 1 - 922 pages In this landmark work, the culmination of 30 years of systematic, comprehensive comparison of 19 rich democracies, Wilensky answers two basic questions: (1) What is distinctly modern about modern societies--in what ways are they becoming alike? (2) How do variations in types of political economy shape system performance? He specifies similarities and differences in the structure and interplay of government, political parties, the mass media, industry, labor, professions, agriculture, churches, and voluntary associations. He then demonstrates how differences in bargaining arrangements among these groups lead to contrasting policy profiles and patterns of taxing and spending, which in turn explain a large number of outcomes: economic performance, political legitimacy, equality, job security, safety and risk, real health, the reduction of poverty and environmental threats, and the effectiveness and fairness of regulatory regimes. Drawing on quantitative data and case studies covering the last 50 years and more than 400 interviews he conducted with top decision-makers and advisors, Wilensky provides a richly detailed account of the common social, economic, and labor problems modern governments confront and their contrasting styles of conflict resolution. The result is new light on the likely paths of development of rich democracies as they become richer. Assessing alternative theories, Wilensky offers a powerful critique of such images of modern society as "post-industrial" or "high-tech," "the information age" or the alleged dominance of "globalization." Because he systematically compares all of the rich democracies with at least three million population, Wilensky can specify what is truly exceptional about the United States, what it shares with Britain and Britain abroad (Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and what it shares with all or almost all of the West European democracies, Israel, and Japan. He gives careful attention to which successful social and labor policies are transferable across nations and which are not. Rich Democracies will interest both scholars and practitioners. It combines the perspectives of political economy (the interplay of markets and politics) and political sociology (the social bases of politics). It will be especially useful in courses on comparative political economy, comparative politics, European politics, public policy, political sociology, the welfare state, American government, advanced industrial societies, and industrial relations. |
Contents
CXXI | 363 |
CXXII | 369 |
CXXIII | 373 |
CXXIV | 375 |
CXXV | 378 |
CXXVII | 383 |
CXXVIII | 384 |
CXXIX | 385 |
28 | |
31 | |
32 | |
33 | |
39 | |
40 | |
50 | |
51 | |
52 | |
57 | |
58 | |
60 | |
61 | |
62 | |
XXVIII | 64 |
XXIX | 65 |
XXX | 68 |
XXXI | 70 |
XXXII | 83 |
XXXIII | 85 |
XXXIV | 87 |
XXXV | 89 |
XXXVI | 91 |
XXXVII | 101 |
XXXVIII | 108 |
XXXIX | 110 |
XL | 116 |
XLII | 119 |
XLIII | 121 |
XLIV | 122 |
XLV | 125 |
XLVI | 126 |
XLVII | 131 |
XLVIII | 133 |
XLIX | 135 |
L | 137 |
LI | 141 |
LII | 143 |
LIII | 144 |
LIV | 145 |
LV | 151 |
LVI | 154 |
LVIII | 156 |
LIX | 163 |
LX | 168 |
LXI | 170 |
LXII | 175 |
LXIII | 186 |
LXIV | 191 |
LXV | 196 |
LXVI | 197 |
LXVIII | 202 |
LXIX | 203 |
LXX | 205 |
LXXI | 209 |
LXXII | 211 |
LXXIII | 212 |
LXXIV | 216 |
LXXV | 221 |
LXXVI | 222 |
LXXVII | 232 |
LXXVIII | 234 |
LXXX | 235 |
LXXXII | 236 |
LXXXIV | 239 |
LXXXV | 241 |
LXXXVI | 243 |
LXXXVII | 245 |
LXXXVIII | 246 |
LXXXIX | 252 |
XC | 254 |
XCII | 261 |
XCIII | 263 |
XCIV | 268 |
XCV | 274 |
XCVI | 278 |
XCVII | 279 |
XCVIII | 280 |
C | 281 |
CI | 282 |
CII | 285 |
CIII | 286 |
CIV | 291 |
CV | 292 |
CVI | 296 |
CVII | 311 |
CVIII | 312 |
CIX | 316 |
CX | 321 |
CXII | 325 |
CXIII | 327 |
CXIV | 330 |
CXV | 332 |
CXVI | 337 |
CXVII | 344 |
CXVIII | 346 |
CXIX | 354 |
CXX | 361 |
CXXX | 390 |
CXXXI | 391 |
CXXXII | 398 |
CXXXIII | 399 |
CXXXIV | 402 |
CXXXV | 409 |
CXXXVI | 410 |
CXXXVII | 415 |
CXXXVIII | 418 |
CXXXIX | 420 |
CXL | 425 |
CXLI | 430 |
CXLII | 432 |
CXLIII | 433 |
CXLIV | 435 |
CXLV | 437 |
CXLVII | 438 |
CXLVIII | 444 |
CXLIX | 445 |
CL | 450 |
CLI | 451 |
CLII | 455 |
CLIII | 457 |
CLIV | 462 |
CLV | 463 |
CLVI | 465 |
CLVII | 473 |
CLVIII | 474 |
CLX | 475 |
CLXI | 480 |
CLXII | 482 |
CLXIII | 484 |
CLXIV | 485 |
CLXV | 494 |
CLXVI | 495 |
CLXVII | 496 |
CLXVIII | 498 |
CLXIX | 501 |
CLXX | 503 |
CLXXI | 507 |
CLXXII | 508 |
CLXXIII | 509 |
CLXXIV | 523 |
CLXXVI | 526 |
CLXXVII | 528 |
CLXXVIII | 530 |
CLXXX | 534 |
CLXXXI | 540 |
CLXXXII | 541 |
CLXXXIII | 545 |
CLXXXIV | 550 |
CLXXXV | 558 |
CLXXXVI | 565 |
CLXXXVII | 573 |
CLXXXVIII | 577 |
CLXXXIX | 579 |
CXC | 582 |
CXCII | 585 |
CXCIII | 586 |
CXCIV | 587 |
CXCV | 593 |
CXCVI | 595 |
CXCVII | 598 |
CXCVIII | 606 |
CXCIX | 611 |
CCI | 613 |
CCII | 614 |
CCIII | 620 |
CCIV | 627 |
CCV | 637 |
CCVI | 644 |
CCVIII | 647 |
CCIX | 654 |
CCX | 658 |
CCXI | 667 |
CCXII | 675 |
CCXVI | 678 |
CCXVII | 692 |
CCXVIII | 693 |
CCXIX | 694 |
CCXX | 695 |
CCXXI | 703 |
CCXXII | 715 |
CCXXIII | 717 |
CCXXIV | 721 |
CCXXV | 724 |
CCXXVI | 728 |
CCXXVIII | 733 |
CCXXIX | 736 |
CCXXX | 737 |
CCXXXI | 743 |
CCXXXII | 766 |
CCXXXIV | 768 |
CCXXXV | 773 |
CCXXXVI | 777 |
CCXXXVII | 869 |
Other editions - View all
Rich Democracies: Political Economy, Public Policy, and Performance Harold L. Wilensky Limited preview - 2002 |
Rich Democracies: Political Economy, Public Policy, and Performance Harold L. Wilensky Limited preview - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
AFDC American analysis Australia Austria average Belgium benefits Canada capita Catholic party central chap chapter cleavages compared convergence corporatism corporatist democracies correlation costs cross-national culture decentralized decline Denmark disability economic performance effect employers equality family policy federal Finland France groups growth health performance HMOs ibid immigrants income increase industrial inequality inflation Israel Italy Japan job creation labor force labor-market left parties left power major mass mayhem means testing means-tested measures meritocracy minority-group mobility Netherlands Norway occupational OECD participation party power pattern pensions percentage political economy poor population poverty programs rank rates reduce reform rich democracies score sector shows social security social spending structure Sweden Switzerland tax-welfare backlash taxes tion trend types of political unemployment unions United Kingdom vote voters wage welfare welfare-state West Germany Wilensky women workers workfare Zealand
Popular passages
Page 478 - Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.
Page 478 - The language of the law thus becomes, in some measure, a vulgar tongue; the spirit of the law, which is produced in the schools and courts of justice, gradually penetrates beyond their walls into the bosom of society, where it descends to the lowest classes, so that at last the whole people contract the habits and the tastes of the judicial magistrate.
Page 49 - ... thereby slow down the push toward equality. Although the prospects of individual mobility out of the working class and the experience of falling into it from above provide a powerful force for ideological heterogeneity, the movement of groups may have a reverse effect. If an entire stratum, craft, or profession is declining, there is more chance of unity in misery and a collective protest — scapegoating or lashing out against symbols of oppression. The tendency is evident in the populism of...
Page 198 - For the manual worker most subject to instability of employment, seniority protection is as yet weak, and for all categories; the period of maximum economic rewards comes later. A working wife is one solution, but the double-earner pattern is least frequent among the very families which feel squeezed — young couples with children at home. The result: a morale trough which lasts either until job aspirations and family pressures decline or rewards increase, or both.
Page 191 - Give people more say in how things are decided at work and in their community H. Try to make our cities and countryside more beautiful i.
Page 198 - As family pressures mount, the demand for credit in the product market and income in the labor market begin their swift ascent. The appetite for consumer durables and the demand for money and job security reach a peak in the thirties among married men with children. But the peak in actual income and security is seldom reached in this critical period.
Page 50 - ... classifications that yield uniformity in ideology or mentality, we must turn to such categories as "small entrepreneur" (a small part of the lower middle class) or to particular crafts (a small part of the upper working class) and to the established professions (a minority of the upper middle class). Insofar as class categories remain at all useful, the line that divides stably employed, well-educated, well-paid workers from the lower class is becoming more important than the split between upper...
Page 516 - ... the boast, voiced or not, on the part of every Southerner, that he would knock hell out of whoever dared to cross him.