First Endorsements of "Welfare in an Idle Society?"
„With his Welfare in an Idle Society? Bernd Marin has set a ‘gold standard’. Congratulations! Nobody who will give new thoughts to re-designing Social Security can go past this encyclopaedic opus.“
Bert Rürup
“Bernd Marin’s monumental, erudite and radical reformulation of the management of older age could not be more timely. Population ageing has already underlined the inadequacy of traditional approaches; the current crisis puts them under an even harsher light. Marin’s profound and detailed analysis leads him to a new synthesis and new solutions which all specialists and policymakers will need to be aware of.“
David Coleman
„An extraordinary book that fascinates by its depth of thought, relevance and multidisciplinary approach. A must read for anybody interested in pensions...and highly readable for the broader audience.“
Robert Holzmann
“Bernd Marin’s new book is a likely instant classic and certainly a milestone in the art of designing a pension system for ageing European societies ... Marin’s eloquently presented reform proposal seems unbeatable, economic and political contexts permitting, as an efficient and equitable solution. For both academics and policy practitioners, this makes for delightfully enlightening reading.”
Claus Offe
“The intergenerational contract is challenged not only by the ageing of populations, but also by the huge public debts inherited from the Great Recession. This book greatly helps us understand how to reform social security in order to make it sustainable. A great read.”
Tito Boeri
“Bernd Marin builds a passionate argument for the renewal of social security in the twenty-first century on comprehensive documentation and clear theoretical insight: a rare achievement that is certain to revive and transform the weary discussion on the welfare state.”
Abram de Swaan
“An impressive reference book on the need for welfare state restructuring ... Marin skilfully outlines the contours of a sustainable social policy system. A unique strength of the volume is the attention paid to the complex gender issues that underlie optimal pension design.”
Janet C. Gornick
“This book makes an essential contribution to re-thinking issues of health and welfare at a time of fundamental demographic and occupational change.”
Anthony Giddens
“A milestone contribution to the urgent task of rethinking and redesigning social security – from now on a standard reference.”
Stein Ringen
“Welfare in an Idle Society? defies the common opinion that pensions are a highly technical, and rather boring subject, and it challenges half-truths about ‘acquired rights’, derived benefits for women and invalidity allowances. The book is a powerful instrument in overcoming pension illiteracy and effectively helping policy makers.”
Elsa Fornero
