Reimagining the Welfare State (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy)

New social risks, ranging from profound transformations in labour markets to rising inequality and the climate crisis, are reshaping contemporary societies and demanding innovative forms of social policy.This book argues that the critical expansion of public social services is central to addressing these challenges.Securing and investing in public services, particularly the social provision of education and health care, not only fosters well-being but also contributes to building equitable, low-carbon economies and generating quality employment. The book draws on a wide range of theoretical traditions, including the capability approach, development studies, welfare state scholarship, and the UK’s Universal Basic Services perspective.It also advances a novel conceptual framework: the “constitutive welfare state.” This framework reconceptualizes public social services as an economic sector in their own right, with far-reaching structural consequences. Blurring the often overdrawn boundar