Project Area A

The six projects of Project Area A mainly rely on macro-quantitative techniques to analyse and explain social policy dynamics in a global perspective. They focus on explaining the (non-)implementation of security programmes and their design in the areas of employment protection and legislation; provision for old-age, accidents or unemployment; health and long-term care; family or education policy.

During the first phase, we are particularly interested in the introduction and dissemination of social policy: which countries were (regional) pioneers and why? Which social policy programmes have been introduced in which order and at what time in which parts of the world? To what extent was the emergence, expansion and retrenchment of social policy driven by international influences or affected by domestic factors?

A central objective of all projects of Project Area A is the development of the Global Welfare State Information System (WeSIS) on global social policy for the period from 1880 to 2020. WeSIS will facilitate the visualisation of social policy dynamics in the form of a global social policy atlas. Project A01 is dedicated to building this database. It is closely interlinked with the other projects in Project Area A and serves as the hub of the entire CRC. Nevertheless, Project A01 also uses these data to pursue its own research programme.