ABSTRACT
The comparative literature which analyzes the fate of the welfare state in our economically ‘dire times’ started with the assumption that an increasingly internationalized market will force the generous welfare states of the Western world in a common, downward direction. Yet, today it seems that the advanced OECD economies have maintained their ability to ‘tax and spend’ to a surprising degree. What is most remarkable from the viewpoint of the early pessimistic predictions is that the welfare state has basically survived (Kuhnle 2001) rather than outlived itself.
