Making the most of a case study : theories of the welfare state and the American experience / Edwin Amenta

Suggests five ways to minimise the problems of case studies through comparative strategies tied to theory: to use theoretical ideal types and predictions to select and frame a problem for explanation; to divide the outcome to be explained into parts that can be compared; to map the historical trajectories of outcomes in order to appraise theoretical expectations in detail; to explore ‘most similar system’ comparisons, cases alike in many ways, but different in the outcome to be explained; and, to amass relatively large-N data sets across subunits of the case. Explores these strategies through theories of public spending and the American experience of public social provision.