The Welfare State Reader has rapidly established itself as vital source of outstanding original research. In the second edition of this highly respected reader, Pierson and Castles have comprehensively overhauled the content, bringing it wholly up-to-date with contemporary discussions about this most crucial area of social and political life. The book includes almost twenty new carefully-edited selections, all reflecting the very latest thinking and research in welfare state studies. These readings are organised around a series of current debates – on welfare regimes, on globalization, on Europeanization, on demographic change and the political challenges of the new century. There are also two substantial sections devoted to the future of welfare – assessing the new risks and new opportunities that confront policy-makers in an increasingly complex political environment. Each section, as well as the volume overall, is set in context by an editorial introduction.