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The Economics of the Welfare State

by: Barr, Nicholas

The Economics of the Welfare State

by: Barr, Nicholas

ISBN 13:
9780199264971
ISBN 10:
019926497X
Edition: 4th
Format: Paperback
Copyright: 08/26/2004
Publisher: Oxford University Press
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Summary

This new fourth edition of this successful textbook discusses the different parts of the welfare system and in particular, cash benefits, the health service and education. The text argues that the welfare state exists not just to help the underprivileged, but also for efficiency reasons, in areas where private markets would be inefficient or would not exist at all. The book is fully updated and will contain a number of student learning features.

List of Figures

xix

List of Tables

Abbreviations

xxi

Useful Web Sites

xxiii

PART ONE CONCEPTS

Introduction to Part 1

(2)

Introduction

(13)

The approach

(3)

The central argument

(2)

Organization of the book

(1)

The welfare state and its objectives

(7)

Defining the welfare state

(4)

The objectives of the welfare state

(3)

A changing world: Challenges and responses

(3)

Questions for further discussion

(1)

Further reading

(1)

The historical background

(26)

Early days

(3)

Poor relief

(1)

Other early social legislation

(2)

The Liberal reforms

(3)

The origins of the reforms

(1)

The new measures

(2)

The First World War and the inter-war period in the UK

(3)

Housing

(1)

Unemployment insurance

(2)

Inter-war poverty relief in the USA

(4)

The roots of the `New Deal'

(2)

The Social Security Act 1935

(2)

The Second World War and its aftermath

(3)

Wartime activity

(2)

Policies 1946--1948

(1)

Post-war developments in the UK and USA

(5)

The UK

(2)

The USA

(2)

Comparative issues

(1)

Concluding issues: From the past to the present

(4)

Interpreting the forces creating the welfare state

(2)

What was created?

(1)

Questions for further discussion

(1)

Further reading

(1)

Political theory: Social justice and the state

(22)

Theories of society

(2)

Libertarian views

(1)

Liberal theories of society

(6)

Utilitarianism

(1)

Rawls on social justice

(4)

Collectivist views

(4)

Democratic socialism

(2)

Marxists

(2)

Implications for the role of the state

(9)

Theoretical issues

(1)

Policy implications

(2)

Attitudes towards the welfare state

(2)

Questions for further discussion

(1)

Further reading

(1)

Appendix: Non-technical summary of Chapter 3

(3)

Economic theory 1: State intervention

(38)

The formal structure of the problem

(2)

Why economic efficiency is one of the aims of policy

(6)

The concept of economic efficiency

(3)

The relevance of efficiency to different theories of society

(3)

Intervention for reasons of efficiency

(9)

Types of intervention

(1)

The assumptions under which markets are efficient

(7)

Policy implications

(1)

Intervention for reasons of social justice

(7)

Why does redistribution occur?

(2)

Redistribution in cash or kind?

(3)

Horizontal equity

(1)

Is there enough redistribution?

(1)

Public choice and government failure

(1)

From theory towards policy: The issue of privatization

(4)

Conclusion: Economic and political theory

(9)

Drawing the borderlines between government and markets

(1)

Achieving policy aims: A liberal view

(1)

The debate with libertarians

(1)

Questions for further discussion

(1)

Further reading

(1)

Appendix: Non-technical summary of Chapter 4

(4)

Economic theory 2: Insurance

102

(19)

Introduction

102

(1)

The demand for insurance

103

(4)

Individual demand

103

(2)

The nature of the product: Insurance as a mechanism for pooling risk

105

(1)

An example: Annuities

105

(2)

The supply side

107

(6)

The supply of insurance

107

(2)

Asymmetric information

109

(4)

The insurance market as a whole: Private and social insurance

113

(8)

The existence and efficiency of private insurance markets

113

(3)

Social insurance

116

(1)

Questions for further discussion

117

(1)

Further reading

118

(1)

Appendix: Non-technical summary of Chapter 5

119

(2)

Problems of definition and measurement

121

(34)

Measuring welfare

121

(6)

Individual welfare

121

(4)

Social welfare

125

(2)

Poverty

127

(7)

Defining poverty

127

(3)

Poverty and inequality

130

(1)

Measuring poverty

131

(3)

Inequality 1: Individuals and families

134

(5)

Defining equality and inequality

134

(2)

Measuring inequality between individuals

136

(1)

Measuring inequality between families

137

(2)

Inequality 2: Aggregate measures

139

(8)

The descriptive approach

139

(4)

Inequality measures based on a social-welfare function

143

(2)

Inequality: Some empirical results

145

(2)

Conclusion

147

(6)

Questions for further discussion

148

(1)

Further reading

148

(2)

Appendix: Non-technical summary of Chapter 6

150

(3)

PART TWO CASH BENEFITS

Introduction to Part 2

153

(2)

Financing the welfare state

155

(13)

The structure of the UK government accounts

155

(4)

Conceptual issues

155

(2)

Government revenue and expenditure

157

(2)

Cash benefits

159

(4)

Individual national-insurance contributions

159

(1)

The National Insurance Fund

160

(3)

Benefits in kind

163

(1)

Assessing the welfare state

163

(5)

Incidence considerations

163

(2)

Redistribution: Preliminary discussion

165

(2)

Questions for further discussion

167

(1)

Further reading

167

(1)

Insurance: Unemployment, sickness, and disability

168

(18)

Introduction and institutions

168

(5)

The issues

168

(2)

Institutions

170

(3)

Theoretical arguments for state intervention

173

(6)

Efficiency 1: Regulation

173

(1)

Efficiency 2: Public provision

174

(3)

A view to the future: Long-term-care insurance

177

(2)

Social justice

179

(1)

Assessment of insurance benefits

179

(7)

Efficiency and incentives

179

(4)

Equity issues

183

(1)

Questions for further discussion

184

(1)

Further reading

184

(2)

Consumption smoothing: Old-age pensions

186

(27)

Introduction and institutions

186

(2)

Methods of organizing pensions

188

(4)

Efficiency arguments for state intervention

192

(7)

Public-versus-private provision

193

(1)

Funding versus Pay-As-You-Go: Theoretical arguments

194

(5)

Social justice

199

(2)

Public-versus-private provision

199

(1)

The redistributive effects of pensions

199

(2)

Assessment of old-age pensions

201

(12)

Efficiency and incentives

201

(9)

Equity issues

210

(1)

Conclusion

211

(1)

Questions for further discussion

212

(1)

Further reading

212

(1)

Poverty relief

213

(19)

Introduction and institutions

213

(2)

Theoretical arguments for state intervention

215

(4)

Arguments for intervention

215

(2)

The simple analytics of targeting

217

(2)

Assessment of poverty relief

219

(13)

Income-tested benefits

219

(3)

Working tax credits

222

(2)

Family support

224

(1)

The poverty and unemployment traps

225

(1)

Empirical issues and evidence

226

(4)

Conclusion

230

(1)

Questions for further discussion

231

(1)

Further reading

231

(1)

Strategies for reform

232

(21)

Approaches to income support

232

(1)

Income-testing: The negative income-tax approach

233

(9)

The idea

233

(1)

An assessment of large-scale negative income-tax schemes

234

(7)

The role of a small-scale negative income tax

241

(1)

Indicator-targeting: The `Back-to-Beveridge' approach

242

(2)

The idea

242

(2)

An example

244

(1)

Mixed strategies

244

(2)

Conclusion: Cash benefits

246

(5)

Questions for further discussion

249

(1)

Further reading

249

(2)

PART THREE BENEFITS IN KIND

Introduction to Part 3

251

(2)

Health and health care

253

(40)

Introduction

253

(1)

Aims

254

(3)

Concepts

254

(2)

Measuring costs and benefits

256

(1)

Methods

257

(13)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 1: Efficiency

257

(7)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 2: Equity

264

(2)

Types of intervention

266

(4)

Assessment of the UK system of health care

270

(12)

Institutions

270

(6)

Assessment 1: Efficiency

276

(3)

Assessment 2: Equity

279

(3)

Reform

282

(7)

Mainly private approaches

282

(3)

Systems with public funding and private production

285

(1)

NHS reforms

286

(3)

Conclusion

289

(4)

Questions for further discussion

291

(1)

Further reading

291

(2)

School education

293

(28)

Introduction

293

(1)

Aims

293

(6)

Concepts

293

(2)

Measuring costs and benefits

295

(4)

Methods

299

(6)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 1: Efficiency

299

(2)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 2: Equity

301

(1)

Types of intervention

302

(3)

Assessment of UK school education

305

(9)

Institutions

305

(4)

Assessment 1: Efficiency

309

(2)

Assessment 2: Equity

311

(3)

Reform

314

(4)

Mainly private approaches

314

(2)

Reforms in the UK

316

(2)

Conclusion

318

(3)

Questions for further discussion

319

(1)

Further reading

319

(2)

Higher education

321

(28)

Introduction

321

(1)

Aims

321

(1)

Methods

322

(10)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 1: Efficiency

322

(5)

Theoretical arguments for intervention 2: Equity

327

(1)

Types of intervention

328

(4)

Assessment of UK higher education

332

(8)

Institutions

332

(2)

Assessment 1: The organization of higher education

334

(2)

Assessment 2: Outcomes

336

(4)

Reform

340

(4)

A strategy for reform

340

(1)

Proposed reforms: The 2003 White Paper

340

(3)

An emerging international consensus?

343

(1)

Conclusion

344

(5)

Questions for further discussion

344

(1)

Further reading

344

(5)

PART FOUR EPILOGUE

Conclusion

349

(13)

Arguments for a welfare state

349

(6)

Theory

349

(1)

Policy

350

(3)

Why have a welfare state?

353

(2)

A changing world: Debates

355

(7)

Is the welfare state desirable?

355

(2)

Is the welfare state sustainable?

357

(3)

Questions for further discussion

360

(1)

Further reading

361

(1)

References

362

(27)

Glossary

389

(6)

Author Index

395

(6)

Subject Index

401

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

The Economics of the Welfare State

The Economics of the Welfare State

9780199264971

019926497X

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

The Economics of the Welfare State

The Economics of the Welfare State

9780199264971

019926497X

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

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