Beyond the Welfare State: Postwar Social Settlement and Public Pension Policy in Canada and Australia

by Sirvan Karimi

Overview

Neoliberal calls for welfare state reforms, especially cuts to public pensions, are a contentious issue for employees, employers, and national governments across the western world. But what are the underlying factors that have shaped the response to these pressures in Canada and Australia?

In Beyond the Welfare State, Sirvan Karimi utilizes a synthesis of Marxian class analysis and the power resources model to provide an analytical foundation for the divergent pattern of public pension systems in Canada and Australia. Karimi reveals that the postwar social contract in Australia was market-based and more conducive to the privatization of retirement income. In Canada, the social contract emphasized income redistribution that resulted in strengthening the link between the state and the citizen.

By shedding light on the impact of national settings on public pension systems, Beyond the Welfare State introduces new conceptual tools to aid our understanding of the welfare state at a time when it is increasingly under threat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487500412
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	02/02/2017
Series:	Studies in Comparative Political Economy And
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sirvan Karimi is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at York University

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Acronyms

Introduction

1 Review of Theoretical Perspectives on the Welfare State

2 Retirement Income Systems: Canadian and Australian Cases

3 National Settings, Class Forces and Keynesianism

4 Postwar Expansion of Pension System in Australia

5 Postwar Expansion of Pension System in Canada

6 Welfare State Restructuring and Neoliberal Variations in Canada and Australia

7 Restructuring of the Pension System in Australia

8 Restructuring of the Pension System in Canada

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Michael Rafferty

"Sirvan Karimi has produced a very clear, well researched, and referenced work that will be of great interest to academics, policy makers, and the general public. It is a key text on the history and debates that surround retirement in Canada, and comes at a very important time in the evolution of retirement policy."

Stephen McBride

"Beyond the Welfare State is a significant contribution to the debate on welfare state restructuring and retrenchment in the neoliberal era. Karimi's original analysis furthers our understanding of welfare state dynamics and the impact of neoliberalism."

Editorial Reviews

'This is a well-written and researched book with a wealth of detail and excellent notes, bibliography and index.'—Andrew Podger, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance vol 16:04:2017
"Beyond the Welfare State is a significant contribution to the debate on welfare state restructuring and retrenchment in the neoliberal era. Karimi's original analysis furthers our understanding of welfare state dynamics and the impact of neoliberalism."—Stephen McBride, Department of Political Science, McMaster University
"Sirvan Karimi has produced a very clear, well researched, and referenced work that will be of great interest to academics, policy makers, and the general public. It is a key text on the history and debates that surround retirement in Canada, and comes at a very important time in the evolution of retirement policy."—Michael Rafferty, School of Business, RMIT University, Australia

From the Publisher

'This is a well-written and researched book with a wealth of detail and excellent notes, bibliography and index.'

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance vol 16:04:2017 - Andrew Podger