This edited volume consists of country studies of social policy reforms in most continental European – or ‘Bismarckian’ – welfare states over the past decade and a half. In addition, it contains chapters on financing the welfare state, employment policy, and the role of social partners in administering social policy, an introduction and summarizing conclusion by the editor, and a prologue by Gøsta Esping-Andersen. It is the companion volume to Palier and Martin (2008). In that volume, the chapters are cross-country comparative analyses of policy areas (pensions, healthcare, and so on) (...).