Trade unions are often said to be hostile to a universal basic income (UBI). Their judgement may be affected by factors such as their work ethic, perceptions of the unemployed and preferences for labour decommodification. Yet, most studies fail to sketch out the reasons for which unions oppose or support a UBI from a normative standpoint. To understand the impact of ideology on unions’ appreciation for a UBI, I integrate results from 62 questionnaires with 27 in-depth qualitative interviews. This study illustrates that unions’ preferences for a UBI are associated with their theoretical understanding of labour, diverging substantially across welfare regimes. Whereas unions from Bismarckian and Nordic countries are generally opposed to a UBI, organizations from Liberal and Mediterranean countries tend to see UBI as a legitimate policy option. However, in some circumstances they set aside the policy for pragmatic reasons, thus disconnecting their normative orientations from perceptions of its concrete viability.

As of 2017, the number of ICT users worldwide reached 4 billion people – it was only 16 million in 1995. According to its early observers, the World Wide Web could effectively tackle socio-economic inequalities, promoting the diffusion of information and opportunities on the four corners of the globe. However, despite the expectations, “digital dividends” arising from new technologies have been distributed unevenly, missing the point of a dramatic, wide-spread emancipatory impetus. Furthermore, as the advantaged tend to seize resources and skills needed for benefitting from the ICTs, the deprived could be further “driven out” from the broadband revolution. Building on these concerns, the aim of the paper is that of reviewing the “state of the art” of the digital inequality debate, shedding light on five main accounts: 1. The adaptive definition of “digital divide”; 2. Methodological approaches; 3. Interaction with other forms of inequalities (socio-economic status, education, race, gender, age); 4. Global dimension and “digital peripheries”; 5. The intrinsically political issue of “connective action”.

In the Fordist era, trade unions promoted welfare state expansion and coverage against risks for the broader workforce. With the shift to the post-industrial economy, however, new economic groups have been left without representation. This is particularly evident for women: despite a rapid increase in female employment since the 1980s, unions’ membership base remains anchored in the male, old and industrial working class. Without the crucial pressure of labour, welfare systems have failed to enhance the reconciliation of work and family life. Under which conditions do unions support the expansion of work-family policies? Marshalling evidence from 20 OECD countries in the 1980–2010 period, this paper investigates the role of political actors in family policy reform. Findings suggest that unions promote the expansion of work-family packages when they are gender-inclusive and have institutional access to policy-making.

The new edition of the Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State offers an exhaustive and informative account on comparative welfare states. Spanning a wide range of disciplines, the 45 contributions that compose the book constitute a useful source for any kind of reader, from welfare state 'newcomers' to more established researchers.Conventional topics such as social policy areas and welfare typologies are successfully complemented by more ambitious pieces, including on emergent welfare regimes in China and India, migration, ideational policy change, states of health, globalisation and well-being. This format allows readers to develop a basic understanding of the welfare state and get to know some of its most promising (and arguably least explored) avenues for research.