Comparative research is exploding with new methodological and theoretical approaches. In this book, scholars who are expert in each one of these methods provide the first comprehensive explanation and application of time-series, pooled, event history, and Boolean methods to substantive problems of the welfare state. Each section of the book focuses on a new method with a general introduction to the method and then two papers using the method to deal with analysis concerning welfare state problems in a political economy perspective. Scholars and graduate students concerned with methodology in this area will need this book to bring them up to date on proliferating methodologies.