Dear FEAST list,

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book, The Politics of Work-Family Policies: Comparing Japan, France, Germany and the United States. The book contributes to comparative studies of work-family policies by focusing on the US plus three countries concerned about low fertility, examining the approaches they have adopted to make it easier for mothers to continue to work.  Philosophers and feminist theorists interested in social policy will find it interesting too, as it engages debates about carework and state support for those who provide care.

 

 

Book details:

The Politics of Work–Family Policies:  Comparing Japan, France, Germany and the United States

AUTHOR:                     Patricia Boling (Department of Political Science, Purdue University)

DATE PUBLISHED:       May 2015

AVAILABILITY:             Available

FORMAT:                     Hardback

ISBN:                           9781107098121

PUBLISHER:                 Cambridge University Press

 

Book description:

The work-family policies of Sweden and France are often held up as models for other nations to follow, yet political structures and resources can present obstacles to fundamental change that must be taken into account.  I evaluate policy approaches in Japan, France, Germany and the US, attending to policy histories, power resources, and political institutions to explain their approaches and to propose realistic trajectories toward change. Taking issue with comparisons that set up the social democracies of northern Europe as the gold standard in this area and urge all the others to emulate them, I argue that for historical, institutional and political reasons, countries like Japan and the US cannot be Sweden:  they need to think realistically about how to create political and policy change in this vital area. Arguing that much of the story lies in the way that job markets are structured, I show that when women have reasonable chances of resuming their careers after giving birth, they are more likely to have children than in countries like Japan where even brief breaks put an end to a career, or where motherhood restricts them to part-time work.

 

Contents:

Preface
1. Why work-family policies matter, and how best to study them
2. Demographic and policy trends in OECD countries
3. Familialist policies in France
4. Germany enacts change
5. Japan confronts low fertility and rapid aging
6. The US relies on families and markets
7. Evaluating work-family policies
8. Why the US can't be Sweden.

                 228 pages plus notes and index