Susan Zimmermann is University Professor at Department of History and Department of Gender Studies, Central European University. Her research has focused on the history of the Habsburg Monarchy, international women’s organizations in the 20th century, the ILO, and women and trade unions in state-socialist Hungary. She is President of the International Conference of Labour and Social History (ITH).

"Drawing on an extensive base of documents, Zimmermann reconstructs the special road of how fin-de-siecle Hungary headed for slowly becoming a welfare-state. It was in part an adaptation to the Western model transmitted by Austrian part of the dual Monarchy. The transformation also produced some distinctive innovations, examplified especially by the Budapest municipal social policy. The book will spark interest in the field of the European comparative history of social policy." GABOR GYANI, Professor at Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

• Preface I. Introduction II. Poverty Policy II.1. Traditions and Ways of Private and Public Poor Relief in the Context of Limited Civic Self-development (1848 to the beginning of the 1860’s) II.2. The Legal Foundations of Poverty Policy in Flux (1860’s to 1914) II.3. The Development and Practice of Poverty Policy (1860’s to 1914) II.3.1. The Two Sides of Poverty Policy: General Trends II.3.2. The Practice of Poor Relief as Provision II.3.3. The Practice of Poverty Policy as the Suppression of Poverty III. Social Reform and State Intervention (1898 to 1914) III.1. Child Protection III.2. Housing Policy III.3. Unemployment and Labor Market Policy IV. State Social Policy IV.1. Labor Protection (1848 to 1914) IV.1.1. Protection in Industry and Trade as differentiated according to the character of the work IV.1.2. Protection for Children, Juveniles and Women as groups defined according to their personal characteristics IV.1.3. Labor Protection for Non-Industrial Workers IV.2. Social Insurance and Workplace-related Social Policy (1880s to 1914) IV.2.1. Sectors and Types of Health and Accident Insurance: Origins, Development and Interests IV.2.2. Institution and Policy IV.2.3. Coverage, Boundaries, Dissociations and Relations: Social Insurance and the Formation and Differentiation of Working and Living Conditions Coverage: Overview and Comparison of Long-term Trends Compulsory Insurance of Workers and Differentiation of Commercial Labour Relations Compulsory Insurance of Male and Female Workers Compulsory Insurance of Workers in Agriculture Social Insurance and Welfare V. Conclusion Bibliography Tables Illustrations