This comprehensive and innovative book demonstrates the dynamics of welfare policies in different socioeconomic settings by providing comparative analyses of the Baltic and Nordic welfare state systems. The book contributes to finding and reflecting upon innovative solutions to common challenges in European welfare states.

Challenging conventional welfare state research, the authors compare the Nordic countries with the welfare states of the market-oriented democracies of the Baltic area, discussing welfare state theories, family policy regimes and welfare state models. Top international contributors provide a better understanding of the complex inequalities that families and individuals are facing in the 21st century, and cover important topics such as poverty, social insurance and family policy in the Nordic and Baltic areas.

Challenges to the Welfare State will be of great interest to social policy scholars and policy makers, particularly those with an interest in the Baltic and Nordic countries. It will also be a welcome addition to the literature for students interested in family policy and pension protection reforms, and those with a general interest in the contemporary welfare state studies in Europe.

'In this important book, the authors offer a rich and multifaceted comparative analysis of family policies and pension protection systems in the Baltic and Nordic countries. By exploring two rarely contrasted socioeconomic settings, the authors brilliantly uncover not only similarities and differences in welfare provision but also lay bare the changes and challenges now taking place in them.'
– Åsa Lundqvist, Lund University, Sweden

'Baltic countries are underrepresented in comparative welfare state studies and this volume addresses this unfortunate situation by addressing contemporary social policy challenges facing both Baltic and Nordic countries in the areas of family policy and pension protection. Featuring an excellent line-up of scholars, this unique volume makes a distinguished contribution to the comparative social policy literature and it offers unique insights for scholars and practitioners alike.'
– Daniel Béland, McGill University, Canada

Contributors: Jolanta Aidukaite, Mare Ainsaar, Sunnee Billingsley, Šarūnas Eirošius, Mia Hakovirta, Barbara Hobson, Sven E.O. Hort, Stein Kuhnle, Kati Kuitto, Susan Kuivalainen, Teodoras Medaiskis, Gerda Neyer, Mikael Nygård, Livia Sz. Oláh, Axel West Pedersen, Magnus Piirits, Olga Rajevska, Kristina Senkuviene, Mona Sõukand, Katharina Wesolowski.

Edited by Jolanta Aidukaite, Institute of Sociology at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Lithuania, Sven E.O. Hort, Formerly Professor of Sociology, Linnaeus University, Sweden and Professor of Social Welfare, Seoul National University, South Korea and Stein Kuhnle, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Norway and Emeritus Professor, the Hertie School, the University of Governance, Berlin, Germany.