Social democratic welfare state regimes are characterized by universalism in coverage and in the nature of benefits, by rights to a large array of benefits based on citizenship or (more recently) residence, and by public provision of a large array of services. Christian democratic welfare states are characterized by universalism in coverage but (at least historically) with different benefits under different programs, by rights to benefits based on employment categories, and by public financing of privately provided services. Liberal welfare states are characterized by partial or residual coverage with different benefits, by rights to most benefits based on need and thus means testing, and by the scarcity of publicly provided or financed social services. These regime types correspond to value commitments and particular views on the desirable relationship between state, market, community, and family. The social democratic type reflects the values of solidarity and equality, and the view that the state is charged with counteracting market forces to realize these values. The Christian democratic type reflects the Catholic doctrine of harmony and subsidiarity, where the state is charged with keeping people out of poverty but not changing the social order, and with performing only the functions that are not performed well by the family or civil society (van Kersbergen 1995). The liberal type reflects the values of individual responsibility and efficiency, and the view that the state should primarily rely on market forces and work with these forces to prevent destitution and provide essential social services. The groups of countries corresponding to the three regime types are the Nordic countries, the continental European countries, and the Anglo-American countries, respectively. In reality, of course, several countries have somewhat mixed welfare state characteristics, reflecting the influence of different political forces involved in their formation.