International trade and technology, the integrated European labour market, transnationalization of citizenship and welfare rights, migration as well as persistent social inequalities are all challenges that national welfare states must face in Europe in the 21st century. European welfare states over time developed different methods to protect their households from adverse shocks but differences in the ability of current welfare states to reduce inequalities in the future can also be observed. The projects in the Globalization, Welfare States & Inequalities cluster (4Is, FPRWS, GIWeS, GlobLabWS and TransJudFare) try to identify determinants and patterns of inequality in European welfare states and how citizen's preferences for redistribution and welfare services are formed. Additionally, they analyze the role of welfare state policies in countering labor market and income inequalities, as well as how welfare states meet these challenges. They also ask how concerns for personal responsibility can be integrated in the design of welfare schemes. Lastly, the projects address the questions about fairness, the transnationalization of citizenships and the effects of technological innovations and their interaction with welfare institutions.
