The Welfare State in Europe : Economic and Social Perspectives

Although in Europe there continues to be a large degree of consensus that it is the responsibility of government to ensure that nobody who is poor, sick, disabled, unemployed, or old is left deprived, there are mounting calls to roll back spending on the welfare state. It is argued that it fails to achieve its main objectives, that it is responsible for a decline in economic performance, and that it was conceived in a very different period and is therefore not adapted to modern realities. This second edition of The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives provides an informed analysis of the key criticisms of the welfare state and examines the prospects of this system in an increasingly integrated world. It answers important questions regarding the current social situation of European countries, the performance of the welfare states, and the reforms that should be undertaken. It calls for fundamental changes in social policies in order to address the rising inequality that hampers social cohesion in Europe. Now focused on Europe in its entirety and including a new chapter on long term care, this new edition of an integral text on the welfare state places increased focus on social divisions and the populist vote to provide a balanced and up-to-date analysis of the performance of current systems. Cover The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives: Second Edition Copyright Preface to the Second Edition Contents List of Figures List of Tables About the Authors 1: Introduction 1.1. Questioning the Welfare State 1.2. Definitions and Objectives 1.3. Equity Versus Efficiency 1.4. Why the Welfare State? 1.5. The Social Divide and the Populist Vote. A Challenge for the Welfare State 2: Poverty and Inequality 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Comparing Poverty 2.3. Comparing Inequality 2.4. Redistributive Effect of Social Protection 2.4.1. Effect on the Poverty of Households 2.4.2. Aggregate Effect on Poverty and Inequality 2.4.3. Permanent Inequality and Poverty across European Countries 2.5. Social Divide and Populism 2.6. Conclusion 3: Social Spending 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Level and Profile 3.3. Evolution 3.4. Problems of Comparison 3.5. The Entitlement Problem 3.6. Conclusion 4: Revenue Sources 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Financing the Welfare State 4.3. Alternative Sources 4.3.1. Regressive Taxation 4.3.2. Adverse Effect on Competition 4.3.3. A Shrinking Tax Base 4.4. Social Insurance Contributions 4.5. Conclusion 5: Types of Social Protection 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Taxonomy of Social Protection 5.3. Implications of Alternative Regimes 5.3.1. Redistribution 5.3.2. Incentives 5.3.3. Political Support 5.4. Styles of Welfare State 5.5. The Active Versus Passive Welfare State 5.6. Alternative Approaches 5.7. Conclusion 6: Social Protection and Globalization 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Benefits of Globalization 6.3. Tax Competition and Race to the Bottom 6.4. Some Evidence 6.5. Incidence of Redistribution 6.6. The Open Method of Coordination 6.7. Another View 6.8. Conclusion Appendix 7: Welfare State and Economic Efficiency 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Individual Behaviour 7.3. A Numerical Example 7.4. Aggregate Evidence 7.5. An Historical View 7.6. Conclusion 8: Performance and Efficiency of the Welfare State 8.1. Introduction 8.2. The Matthew Effect 8.3. Administrative Costs 8.4. Doing Better with Less. Productive Efficiency Studies 8.5. The Performance of the Welfare State 8.6. Conclusion Appendix 9: Social versus Private Insurance 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Social Insurance 9.2.1. The State, the Market, and the Family 9.2.2. The Specificity of Social Insurance 9.2.3. Expenditure for Insurance, Private, and Public 9.2.4. Charity 9.3. Standard Cases for Social Insurance 9.3.1. Market Failures 9.3.2. Social Insurance as a Redistributive Device 9.4. New Arguments Pro and Con 9.4.1. Increasing Demand and Evolving Labour Market 9.4.2. Payroll Taxation, Fiscal Competition, and Social Dumping 9.4.3. Credibility and Commitment 9.5. The Limits of Redistributive Policy 9.6. Implications and Conclusion Appendix Redistributive Policy under Asymmetric Information 1. Transfer in Kind 2. Tagging 3. Workfare 10: Old Age Pensions 10.1. Introduction 10.2. The Pension Systems 10.3. Old-Age Poverty 10.4. The Challenges of Pension Systems 10.4.1. Population Ageing 10.4.2. Employment of the Elderly 10.5. The Future of Pensions 10.6. Conclusion 11: Health Care 11.1. Introduction 11.2. Expenditure on Health Care 11.3. Cost Containment 11.4. Inequality in Health and Health Care 11.5. Conclusion 12: Long-Term Care 12.1. Introduction 12.2. Informal Care and LTC Private Insurance 12.3. Public Spending Projections 12.4. The Design of LTC Social Insurance 12.5. Conclusion 13: Unemployment and Poverty 13.1. Introduction 13.2. Unemployment and Employment 13.3. Unemployment Insurance 13.4. Flexibility and Protection 13.5. The Changing Nature of Employment 13.5.1. Posted Workers 13.5.2. Uberization and Automation 13.5.3. The Universal Basic Income 13.6. In-Work Poverty 13.7. Conclusion 14: Family Policy 14.1. Introduction 14.2. Evolution and Structure of Child Benefits 14.3. Child Poverty 14.4. Early Child Development Policies 14.5. Types of Child Care Policies 14.6. Conclusion 15: Conclusion 15.1. Two Views 15.2. The Acquired Rights Issue 15.3. Towards a European Social Protection 15.4. Looking Ahead: Two Challenges 15.4.1. Digital Revolution 15.4.2. The Social Divide 15.5. Wrapping Up Glossary Bibliography Name Index Subject Index