European System of Welfare State Indicators (EUWI): Political, Social and Institutional Change in Comparison

Research question/goal: 

The planned project aimed at developing a European System of Welfare State Indicators (EUWI) that enhances comparative quantitative and qualitative information on welfare state institutions. EUWI was part of a larger project initiative that aimed at analyzing the impact of political institutions and processes on welfare state reform, and also the effects of changing welfare state institutions on the objective living conditions and subjective well-being of citizens throughout Europe. As part of its preparation the project leaders organized two workshops in the context of the EU-funded EQUALSOC-network. The first workshop on “Welfare State Institutions and Welfare State Outcomes” at MZES in Mannheim was organized by Joakim Palme (SOFI) and Claus Wendt (MZES) in 2008. The second workshop on “Changing Institutions: Historical Meets Sociological Institutionalism” was chaired by Bernhard Ebbinghaus (MZES) and Jelle Visser (AIAS) at University of Amsterdam in 2009. A first pilot project led to the research project “Social Assistance in Europe: Indicators of Minimum Income Security Schemes”, funded by Hans Böckler Foundation (see Project A1.7 of the MZES 7th Research Programme), which collected minimum income indicators that are made available as a database. Following the move of Claus Wendt to the University of Siegen, the planned EUWI-project ended in 2011; instead several comparative projects on welfare state institutions and labour market outcomes will be continued in Research Area A1.

Fact sheet

Funding: 
MZES
Duration: 
2006 to 2011
Status: 
completed

Publications