Based on comparative adult education statistics offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and country case studies, this book analyses the policies and structures that foster adult learning. It examines a variety of forms of adult learning, ranging from initial forms of post-compulsory education, such as upper secondary tracks and tertiary education, to firm training, compensatory adult education and learning for civic and leisure oriented purposes. Throughout the book, adult learning systems are directly linked to a variety of structural and public policy frameworks using a comparative welfare state approach. Themes such as pathways to learning and transition systems, participation patterns in higher education and participation patterns in other organized forms of adult learning are covered. The countries discussed are the UK, the USA, Korea, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Situated at the intersection between scholarship and policy and using a mixed-methods approach, this title contributes fundamental insights into the further study of policies and structures related to alternative post-compulsory learning pathways. Richard Desjardins has provided a comprehensive and accessible account of the political economy of adult learning systems that will be essential reading for those new to the field, as well as to those more familiar with bringing together a political analysis with an understanding of economics. It provides researchers, policy makers and institutional leaders with valuable country-specific analyses, and through comparative conceptual work, it offers important critical insights and poses new questions about the relationship between patterns of education structures, governance, participation and equality of outcomes.