The New Eastern Europe
Social Policy Past, Present and Future
Bringing together leading specialists on the social policy of the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Poland, this book systematically outlines the shortcomings of the old bureaucratic collectivist system of welfare, as well as explaining why the emerging system is, initially at least, often inadequate. Focusing on this unique period of transition, The New Eastern Europe vividly demonstrates the difficulty of balancing social justice and economic efficiency in social policy.
`Deacon and colleagues, many with first hand experience of the old systems, have assembled an excellent overview of recent developments in social policy in five countries of Central and Eastern Europe' - Critical Public Health
`[Deacon] has become one of the still very few west-European sociologists who is well informed about eastern Europe in its great transition...a lot of useful, up-to-date information about trends in eastern Europe. This is approached scientifically through a social policy perspective, a comparative framework and a historical dimension' - Journal of European Social Policy
`Lively and thought provoking content will serve to stimulate student interest in comparative social policy. The volume contains detailed, well argued examinations of the historical development, transitional problems and future prospects' - Journal of Social Policy
`A very good book. The general chapters are model comparative surveys and the individual country chapters give a real feel for the issues in each country. It is a very ambitious book, for it seeks to explain and evaluate as well as describe... stimulating to read. The authors have been collaborating for some time and that shows in the coherence of the book' - Health Promotion International
`The authors' goal is to outline a framework by which the reader might analyze new developments in social policy. They succeed in doing that. The book is intended for students in comparative social policy or East European studies, especially those in social policy, politics and administration. But the book is also suitable for policy makers, politicians and their advisors in the East European countries themselves. Moreover a general public with an interest in social policy will find a good introduction and a rich source of up-to-date information. All six authors are specialists in the field of social policy in the countries described. Their contributions reach the same high level of quality' - European Journal of Public Health
`This collection of essays contains a country by country analysis of social policy in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary.... It is valuable because it gives the discussion of social policy a more global perspective. It is timely because all the countries are at such a crucial phase of development, and because for some, particularly the FSU, data have only been accessible to the outside observer comparatively recently' - Journal of Area Studies