Addressing key questions in the European welfare state debate our project takes a distinctively economic and comparative angle, putting the global changes that we have witnessed since 1989 at the core of our analysis, and studying the effects they have on the interplay between European economies and their welfare states. Our project is unique in several dimensions. It is comparative, focusing on four polar countries Austria, Germany, Norway, and the UK, different not just in their industry base and skill structure, but also in their welfare institutions. Comparing these countries along the various dimensions in which their economies and welfare states have reacted to globalisation provides us with new and important insights and offers a truly novel dimension to better understand existing national institutions from an international perspective. It is innovative, addressing key aspects of the interplay between globalisation, the economy and the welfare state, and bringing them together in a comprehensive research project. Not only will we develop new conceptual models and approaches, but we will also use ? and combine ? new and informative data sources of both survey and administrative nature. It is dynamic, drawing on unique longitudinal information that allows us to explore the longer term impacts of global shocks down to the individual firm and the individual worker, and to study their dynamic responses over time and the life cycle. We can thus address some of the key issues in academic research, and push not only the frontier of research, but also contribute to some of the core issues in the current debate about the welfare state. It is original, linking ? for the first time ? administrative longitudinal data covering entire populations across countries. This can open for path-breaking new insights, as it allows following individuals across national borders, and ? as we observe entire populations longitudinally ? investigating their choices in response to detailed descriptions of work environments and networks across countries, and the respective welfare institutions. It will leave a legacy, by pioneering the possibility to combine administrative longitudinal data sources across different countries. It contributes to all five themes of the call, investigating how welfare state institutions cushion individuals against global shocks, exploring inequalities across the three types of welfare states in Europe, investigating the past and future roles of the welfare state in providing growth and prosperity to European citizens and scrutinizing the role of deep institutions like targeting of benefits in shaping a new version of the European welfare state that is acceptable to the electorate. It addresses the hottest issues of the current crisis, focusing on how twenty-five years of globalisation have challenged European welfare states. Most countries respond by reconsidering some of their social institutions. Observers claim that the welfare institutions are hindering rather than promoting economic growth; that the Euro crisis is an institutional crisis in addition to a financial and fiscal crisis. They point to an urgent need for reform. A prominent proponent of all this is German chancellor Angela Merkel. At the 2013 World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos she advocated that the fiscal consolidation in the Euro zone should be accompanied by structural reforms of the welfare state. It is wide-ranging, capturing how globalisation makes competition more dynamic, raising the pace of product innovation and technological change, speeding up the process of creative destruction. All this may affect the welfare state far beyond institutions that impinge on the working life of people. The wide-ranging changes of industrial structures and the economy may give rise to a new political and economic equilibrium. It is about institutional change, asking whether the European welfare state, as we know it, will survive the transformation, and what will happen to its different incarnations such as the Scandinavian, the German and the British model. Will a new common European model emerge ? and if so what will be its features? Or, will the varying ability of European economies to adjust to global change lead to a withered welfare state in some countries and to a thriving one in others? To what extent the political process will be able to convey the demands for institutional change, can also be questioned. Are the voters willing to authorise dramatic changes? The key features of our project are critical not only for the economic prosperity of each country, but for the future of economic integration and the common European currency as well. We will complement this research with a broader view of all other European countries. Each of our team members is a leading expert on the topics to be explored in this proposal, having already collaborated in various settings, including joint research. Our research group also provides an ideal environment for the early stage researchers and PhD students we plan on recruiting; they will greatly benefit from the interaction with our experienced researchers all holding excellent track records in the development of young scholars? careers. Our proposal consists of three interrelated Themes. Theme I. The Interplay between Trade, Technology and the Welfare State Theme II. National Welfare States in an Integrated European Labour market Theme III. Political Support for European Welfare States