Thomas Bahle is senior researcher at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). He has extensive experience in the comparative analysis of family policies, social services and minimum income protection.Vanessa Hubl studied social sciences at the Universities of Mannheim and Utrecht. She currently works as a researcher at the MZES.Michaela Pfeifer is a lecturer and researcher in sociology at the University of Siegen and PhD Candidate at the University of Mannheim.

"Navigating through the complex institutional puzzles which make up the last safety nets in the European countries, the authors offer detailed empirical information on the actual working of welfare states and on different conceptions of deservedness and social citizenship." Chiara Saraceno, Research Professor, Institute for Social Research, Berlin

• Introduction; Defining and measuring minimum income protection; Welfare state contexts; Country analyses; Comparative analyses; Conclusion.

Thomas Bahle is senior researcher at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). He has extensive experience in the comparative analysis of family policies, social services and minimum income protection.Vanessa Hubl studied social sciences at the Universities of Mannheim and Utrecht. She currently works as a researcher at the MZES.Michaela Pfeifer is a lecturer and researcher in sociology at the University of Siegen and PhD Candidate at the University of Mannheim.

"Navigating through the complex institutional puzzles which make up the last safety nets in the European countries, the authors offer detailed empirical information on the actual working of welfare states and on different conceptions of deservedness and social citizenship." Chiara Saraceno, Research Professor, Institute for Social Research, Berlin

• Introduction; Defining and measuring minimum income protection; Welfare state contexts; Country analyses; Comparative analyses; Conclusion.