ABSTRACT
It has been claimed for a long time that the welfare state is in crisis (O’Connor, 1973; OECD, 1981; Offe, 1984; Wilson and Wilson, 1995). Therefore the trend since the burst of the housing bubble and the banking crisis in 2008 is arguably just another and just a new, temporary slow-down given that welfare states since the Second World War seemingly have matured and expanded continually along with economic growth. However, what constitutes a crisis is not always clearly and precisely defi ned, and also whether this implies a discontinuity of the welfare state or just different tracks in its development or in some areas a paradigmatic shift in policy and approach is not always clear. Furthermore, the impact of a crisis will depend on the willingness to fi nance welfare, including in recent years how to reduce public sector defi cits by what kind of combination of tax increases and reduction in public welfare spending and at what pace this is expected to occur. Finally, a crisis can also be a window of opportunity to make fundamental changes – and whether this is good or bad for the welfare state will at least to a certain extent depend on a normative stance towards these changes – and can therefore vary among countries.
