At the margins of the welfare state

This is a revised and shortened version of the author's doctoral thesis in sociology, delivered at the U. of Konstanz (Germany) in 2001, examining the role of minimum income schemes in poverty alleviation efforts of the modern welfare states. Her main focus is on analyzing micro-data from national household surveys in order to assess the income position of private households and the effects of redistributive policies. She also approaches the topic from an institutional perspective, analyzing similarities and differences in design of redistributive schemes. She argues that effective poverty alleviation strategies do not depend only on the amount of money redistributed, but also on the mechanisms by which the process is achieved. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)