ESPAnet Annual Conference SOCIAL POLICY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Stream 19: “Welfare State Building in the Interbellum Period (1914-1940): Defining Years?”, Stream Convenors: Marcel Hoogenboom (Utrecht) and Christina May (Göttingen)

Time: 05.-07.09.2013
Venue: Poznan University of Economics, Poland
Deadline: 11.03.2013

The observation of the development of the “modern” welfare state usually begins with the unparalleled expansion of social policies after the Second World War. However, numerous welfare states have experienced policy implementations decisive for their current appearance well before that. In many respects, the period between 1914 and 1940 is constitutive for the development of European welfare states. Firstly, World War I led to an increased demand of legislative remedies, the loyalty of soldiers and civilians was often traded for more generous social policies and workmen’s compensations. Closely connected was secondly a perceived demographic crises – a “nation without youths” seemed to be unable to compete both militarily and politically. Read more and source