The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy

The American welfare state has long been a source of political contention and academic debate. This Oxford Handbook pulls together much of our current knowledge about the origins, development, functions, and challenges of American social policy. After the Introduction, the first substantive part of the handbook offers an historical overview of U.S. social policy from the colonial era to the present. This is followed by a set of chapters on different theoretical perspectives available for understanding and explaining the development of U.S. social policy. The three following parts of the volume focus on concrete social programs for the elderly, the poor and near-poor, the disabled, and workers and families. Policy areas covered include health care, pensions, food assistance, housing, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, workers' compensation, family support, and programs for soldiers and veterans. The final part of the book focuses on some of the consequences of the U.S. welfare state for poverty, inequality, and citizenship. Many of the chapters comprising this handbook emphasize the disjointed patterns of policy making inherent to U.S. policymaking and the public-private mix of social provision in which the government helps certain groups of citizens directly (e.g., social insurance) or indirectly (e.g., tax expenditures, regulations). The contributing authors are experts from political science, sociology, history, economics, and other social sciences.

Daniel Beland is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Public Policy (Tier 1) at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (University of Saskatchewan campus). A student of comparative social policy, he has published more than 10 books and 85 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Four of his previous books are exclusively devoted to U.S. social policy.

Christopher Howard is the Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary. His research focuses on U.S. social policy and tax policy in historical perspective. He is the author of two books and several journal articles and chapters in edited volumes.

Kimberly J. Morgan is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University. Her research focuses is on comparative public policy with a focus on social welfare, family policy, health care, and immigration. She is the author of two books and numerous journal articles.