pp. 369-406

The advanced industrial democracies face mounting pressures to reform their welfare states at the same time that social programs generally continue to elicit substantial political support. Caught between the resilience of social programs and a context of permanent austerity, the politics of reform have generally centered on efforts to construct broad coalitions in support of restructuring rather than dismantling of mature welfare states. Understanding the dynamics of reform requires an appreciation for the distinct dimensions of reform (which I term cost containment, recommodification, and recalibration) and the distinctive political and policy configurations that operate in liberal, conservative, and social democratic welfare regimes.