"Culture and Welfare State" provides comparative studies in the interplay between cultural factors and welfare policies. Starting with an analysis of the historical and cultural foundations of Western-European welfare states, reflected in the competing ideologies of liberalism, conservatism and socialism, the book goes on to compare the Western-European welfare model to those in North-America, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. Comprehensive and engaging, this volume examines not only the relationships between cultural change and welfare restructuring, taking empirical evidence from policy reforms in contemporary Europe, but also the popular legitimacy of welfare, focusing particularly on the underlying values, beliefs and attitudes of people in European countries.