Choice Review

This is a very timely volume as Europe begins to reevaluate the enthusiasm its leaders have shown for austerity as a response to economic and fiscal crisis. This has been a controversial policy choice; in the first chapter, the issue is placed in the proper context of the need for both structural reforms and a reconsideration of the policy of austerity. The impacts of current policies on inequality and on vulnerable groups make them untenable. The second chapter presents an extensive examination of the impact austerity has had on Europe's slowly developing gender equality. In part, this is because women's work tends to be concentrated in the care sector, which is particularly under funding attack. The remaining 13 chapters present the policy initiatives that have been taken in individual countries of the European Union, divided between countries in western and central Europe. The variety of the experiences in these countries is too rich to be summarized in a short review, but most provide interesting, valuable insights into the difficulties and the degrees of success that have been achieved in each of the cases. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. P. K. Kresl emeritus, Bucknell University