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  1. Home
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  3. Indebted Societies
  • Cited by 28
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2021
Print publication year:
2021
Online ISBN:
9781108975209
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108975209
Series:
Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
Subjects:
Political Sociology, Politics and International Relations, Comparative Politics, Sociology
Information

Book description

In many rich democracies, access to financial markets is now a prerequisite for fully participating in labor and housing markets and pursuing educational opportunities. Indebted Societies introduces a new social policy theory of everyday borrowing to examine how the rise of credit as a private alternative to the welfare state creates a new kind of social and economic citizenship. Andreas Wiedemann provides a rich study of income volatility and rising household indebtedness across OECD countries. Weaker social policies and a flexible knowledge economy have increased costs for housing, education, and raising a family - forcing many people into debt. By highlighting how credit markets interact with welfare states, the book helps explain why similar groups of people are more indebted in some countries than others. Moreover, it addresses the fundamental question of whether individuals, states, or markets should be responsible for addressing socio-economic risks and providing social opportunities.

Awards

Winner, 2022 William Riker Best Book Award, American Political Science Association

Winner, 2022 Class and Inequality Section Best Book Award, American Political Science Association

Reviews

'The world is awash in unprecedented levels of credit and debt. Yet we know very little about the political implications of borrowing. Until now. Andreas Wiedemann's remarkable book revolutionizes our understanding of the political economy of debt, building on a masterful series of analyses of individual and country level data. An absolute must read.'

Ben Ansell - University of Oxford

'This innovative study sheds new light on the relationship between policies granting access to credit and social policies by explaining differences in the ways in which individuals cope with sudden income losses. Access to credit allows households to address temporary loss in income and also affects important investment decisions made by households over the course of the life cycle. Andreas Wiedemann develops a framework for understanding how the ability of households with different income-levels to cope with financial shortfalls differs across countries.'

Isabela Mares - Yale University

‘… a must read for scholars of social welfare policy, political economy, and inequality.'

Mallory E. SoRelle Source: Comparative Politics

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