This book investigates the transition from traditional welfare state models to an 'enabling state' framework characterized by private enterprise and market-oriented social provisions. Authors Neil and Barbara Gilbert analyze how modern industrial democracies have shifted the delivery of social welfare through mechanisms like tax expenditures, credit subsidies, and regulatory mandates. By examining these structural changes, the authors argue that the boundaries of social welfare have expanded beyond direct government transfers into a complex, multifaceted system of public-private cooperation.

Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of modern social policy and the evolution of the welfare state. Readers frequently note the analytical depth of the text, which provides a foundational perspective for understanding contemporary shifts in public administration and economic policy.