Encyclopedia of Public Policy

Minna van Gerven (PhD in Sociology, Tilburg University) is Professor of Social Policy at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. She has held academic positions at several Dutch universities, including Tilburg, Amsterdam, and Twente, across departments such as sociology, public administration, and public management. Her research focuses on comparative social policy, particularly the design and delivery of welfare benefits and services, as well as the reform of social security systems in European welfare states and China. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of European Social Policy, Social Policy and Administration, European Policy Analysis, and Global Social Policy.

Christine Rothmayr Allison (Dr. phil., University of Zurich) is Professor of Public Policy and Administration in the Department of Political Science at the University of Montreal. Prior to this, she taught at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Her research interests lie in comparative public policy, with a particular focus on biotechnology and biomedicine, as well as the intersection of courts and politics—especially the influence of judicial decisions on policymaking and policy change in North America and Europe. Her publications appear in journals such as the European Journal of Political Research, Comparative Political Studies, West European Politics, Regulation & Governance, Journal of European Public Policy, and the Canadian Journal of Political Science.

Klaus Schubert (Dr. rer. soc.) is Professor of German Politics and Policy Analysis in the Department of Political Science at the University of Münster. He has previously taught at the universities of Bochum, Tübingen, and Düsseldorf in Germany, as well as Aberdeen and York in the United Kingdom. His research spans comparative public policy—with a strong theoretical and methodological orientation—pragmatism, and the comparative analysis of welfare systems. He is the author and editor of several books, including Challenges to European Welfare Systems (2016), Policy Analysis in Germany (2017), and the second edition of The Handbook of European Welfare Systems (2020). He also serves as co-editor of European Policy Analysis, a policy journal published in collaboration with the Policy Studies Organization and Wiley Blackwell.