Ben-Arieh and Gal draw together a collection of original essays by leading researchers on issues of major importance to all welfare states, alongside a special focus on developments in the Israeli welfare state. The essays dealing directly with issues pertaining to the Israeli welfare state represent an original attempt to present a full picture of Israeli social policy. By focusing on the politics and the making of social policy in a variety of countries, the essays contribute to a better understanding of the development and issues facing welfare states around the world. This book will be of particular interest to scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with social welfare and social policy issues.

ASHER BEN-ARIEH is Associate Director for Research and Development at the National Council for the Child in Israel and heads its Center for Research and Public Education. He is a faculty member of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 1990 he has been the project director and editor of the annual State of the Child in Israel—A Statistical Abstract. JOHN GAL is Lecturer in Social Policy at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published extensively on subjects dealing with poverty and unemployment, social security, and social welfare in Israel and in a comparative context. Among other publications, he has edited a volume dealing with child poverty in Israel.