Economic Consequences of
Rolling Back the Welfare State
In recent years the welfare
state has come under attack from economists, and in many OECD countries there have been
calls to roll back spending on the welfare state. Critics argue that the size of transfer
programs is responsible for a decline in economic performance and that cuts in spending
are a prerequisite for a return to the golden age of full employment and economic growth.
A. B. Atkinson takes such criticisms seriously, placing them under empirical and
analytical scrutiny.
Atkinson brings a welcome
sense of balance to the debate. He warns that many currently fashionable policy proposals
to roll back the welfare state could have unintended negative side effects, based as they
are on an oversimplified view of the workings of the economy and of how welfare
arrangements affect economic incentives. He asks whether there are ways in which the
welfare state plays a positive role in the modernization of the economy. He develops and
consequences of unemployment insurance, and the implications of moves to private pension
funds.
Atkinson does not attempt to
determine whether spending should be cut. Rather, his aim is to clarify the nature of the
charges leveled against the welfare state so that readers can make up their minds.
208 pages
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