Based on papers originally presented at the workshop "American Foundations and European Welfare States," Copenhagen, Denmark, April 2009.

Includes bibliographical references.

Interwar period -- The Commonwealth Fund of New York and child health in Austria in the 1920s / John Stewart -- The Rockefeiler Foundation, social policies and public health in Spain, 1920-1939 / Josep L. Barona -- The birth of a new system : The Rockefeiler Foundation and the institutions of the Hungarian public health system (1920-1935) / Peter Simonik -- US "Scientific Philanthropy" in France, Germany and Great Britain : historical snapshots of an interwar panorama / Helke Rausch -- After the Second World War -- Americanization of the Danish weifare state : traces of American influence on health and social policies in Denmark / Klaus Petersen & Henriette Buus -- "Operation Lazarsfeld" in Norway : social research in the service of government? / Fredrik W. Thue -- Traveling Scholars : Swedish academic travelers across the Atlantic in the 20th century / Dag Blanck -- The Rockefeller Foundation, Scandinavian aid agencies and the "Population Explosion" / Sunniva Engh.

"In public debate and academic writings the American and European welfare states are often portrayed as inhabiting completely different welfare regimes. However, if we take a closer look at the historical development of the European welfare state we find that American philanthropic bodies such as the Rockefeller Foundation had a significant influence on the development in key areas of the European welfare states such as health care, social work, education and the disciplines of social science. The contributions in this book explore the influence of American foundations from the interwar period to the 1950s in Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Spain and Sweden. The book offers new insights into the transnational history of European welfare states as well as the complicated process often labeled as Americanization"--Back cover.