Delivered by Ingenta to: University of Oxford IP : 163.1.56.154 On: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 10:17:34 Copyright The Policy Press 583 Policy & Politics฀vol฀39฀no฀4฀•฀583-611฀(2011)฀•฀http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/030557311X603592 ©฀The฀Policy฀Press,฀2011฀•฀ISSN฀0305฀5736 Key฀words:฀welfare฀regimes฀•฀ideal฀types฀•฀comparative฀social฀policy฀•฀three฀worlds฀of฀welfare฀capitalism Welfare regime debate: past, present, futures? 1 Emanuele Ferragina 2 and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser The฀seminal฀work฀by฀Esping-Andersen฀(1990)฀has฀transformed฀and฀inspired฀social฀policy฀ research over the past two decades. Various contributions have confirmed his typology, while others have challenged, and expanded, it from substantive and methodological perspectives. This article contributes to this debate in two ways. First, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the different typologies proposed in the literature, employing the฀concept฀of฀‘ideal฀types’.฀Second,฀it฀elaborates฀new฀directions฀for฀research฀along฀three฀ dimensions:฀ (1)฀ improving฀ measurement฀ validity฀ by฀ linking฀ macro฀ and฀ micro฀ data฀ to฀ overcome฀assumptions,฀largely฀based฀on฀the฀average฀(production)฀worker;฀(2)฀assessing฀ the฀reliability฀of฀typologies฀over฀time;฀(3)฀systematically฀integrating฀both฀the฀work–welfare฀ as฀well฀as฀the฀care–welfare฀dimensions.฀ Introduction The ‘three worlds of welfare capitalism’ (TWWC) is part of a long sociological tradition (Esping-Andersen, 1990) rooted in deductive reasoning and the use of ideal types. As Max Weber (1904 [1949]) highlighted, ‘the construction of a system of abstract and therefore purely formal propositions …, is the only means of analysing and intellectually mastering the complexity of social life’ (1904 [1949]: 87). In this vein, Esping-Andersen (1990) constructed the welfare regime typology acknowledging the ideational importance and power of the three dominant political movements of the long 20th century in Western Europe and North America, that is, social democracy, Christian democracy (conservatism) and liberalism. 3 THEMATIC REVIEW Each thematic review article is intended to summarise a chosen body of literature and to offer new perspectives or seek to advance understanding of an issue or debate.฀This฀section฀offers฀the฀opportunity฀to฀launch฀high-proile฀critiques,฀to฀ showcase acute but comprehensive contributions and to initiate challenging dialogues. While articles will usually be commissioned by the editorial team, abstracts of potential฀articles฀are฀welcome.฀If฀you฀would฀like฀to฀discuss฀your฀ideas฀informally,฀ please฀contact฀Sarah฀Ayres฀(sarah.ayres@bristol.ac.uk).