Families of Nations Patterns of Public Policy in Western Democracies

This study introduces a new and important perspective in comparative policy analysis - that the policy experience of particular groups of nations is shaped by ties of history, culture and institutional experience. The existence of such common policy outcomes is frequently noted - poor economic performance in the English-speaking world, welfare leadership in Scandinavia, price stability in the German-speaking countries - but explanations are rarely forthcoming.;"Families of Nations" seeks to locate the sources of these similarities and others new to the literature of comparative public policy - rapidly rising divorce rates in the English-speaking nations, Scandinavia's outstanding record of rights for children, exceptionally low rates of female labour force participation in the German-speaking countries. The analysis notes the impact of social, economic and political factors in determining these outcomes, but also demonstrates the crucial role of history and culture in fashioning distinctive patterns of policy in diverse families of nations.;The major contributors - Castle, Schmidt and Therborn - are leading figures in comparative policy research, each coming from different families of nations featuring in this volume.