Contemporary Welfare and Social Policy

There are a range of ways to understand and assess social policy. We could take an historical perspective and think about how policy has evolved over time. We may wish to look for statistical evidence and judge how far policies contribute to GDP or other measures of economic and social development within a nation. Or we could consider how social policy compares to our ideological predilections and values. Another, increasingly popular way to try and understand social policy however is to set it in an international comparative context – what do we do similarly or differently to other countries around the world, and how do the outcomes we achieve compare to those in other parts of the world? This provides a basis for evaluation of policy, where weaknesses

About This Document