At the Margins of the Welfare State

by Behrendt, Christina

• ISBN13: 9780754619963
• ISBN10: 0754619966
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd

Summary

The persistence of poverty in advanced welfare states casts doubt on the fundamental operating procedures of income distribution and redistribution. What are the reasons for this apparent failure of the welfare state in alleviating poverty? Why are some countries more effective than others in this respect and what can explain these variations in effectiveness?Addressing one of the major puzzles in comparative welfare state research, this unique volume adopts a fresh perspective to examine why there is income poverty in highly developed welfare states. Focusing on the basic safety net of the welfare state, it offers a systematic and innovative analysis of the effectiveness of minimum income schemes in a comparative study across three highly developed welfare states: Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Blending insights from a combination of institutional information and quantitative data from income surveys, the author evaluates the causal mechanisms for the persistence of income poverty in highly developed welfare states and derives conclusions for political reforms.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	viii
List of Tables	x
List of Abbreviations	xii
Acknowledgements	xiii
Welfare States and the Alleviation of Poverty	1	(12)
Minimum Income Schemes and the Alleviation of Poverty	2	(3)
Combining Institutional Information and Micro-data on Poverty	5	(1)
Choice of Cases	6	(3)
Terminology	9	(1)
Structure of this Book	10	(3)
Poverty and Poverty Alleviation in Industrialized Welfare States: What Do We Know?	13	(20)
Poverty in Industrialized Welfare States	13	(4)
The Redistributional Impact of the Welfare State	17	(8)
Welfare State Efforts and the Alleviation of Poverty	25	(4)
Unsolved Puzzles and a Possible Solution	29	(4)
Mapping the Reduction of Poverty through Minimum Income Schemes	33	(20)
Evaluating the Effects of Minimum Income Schemes	33	(4)
Distribution of Means-tested Benefits within the Poor Population	37	(2)
Effectiveness of Means-tested Transfers	39	(7)
What Can Explain the Apparent Ineffectiveness of the Welfare State?	46	(7)
Methodological Puzzles and Pitfalls in the Measurement of Poverty	53	(36)
Why Do Low Income and Social Assistance Receipt Hardly Coincide?	53	(3)
Is Income an Adequate Measure of Poverty?	56	(4)
Data and Data Quality	60	(9)
Private Households: A Simple Concept with Critical Implications	69	(7)
The Concept of Income and Related Questions	76	(4)
Poverty Lines	80	(6)
A Way Out of the Methodological Problems of Poverty Research?	86	(3)
Is the Entire Population Eligible for Social Assistance Benefits?	89	(12)
The Institutional Framework: Eligibility Rules and Means-tests	89	(10)
Do Social Assistance Schemes Provide a Safety Net for All?	99	(2)
Do Social Assistance Schemes Provide Adequate Benefits?	101	(56)
The Institutional Framework: Minimum Income Standards	103	(24)
Adequacy: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study	127	(28)
Adequacy and the Effectiveness of Social Assistance Schemes	155	(2)
Do Social Assistance Schemes Encourage Take-up?	157	(46)
Social Assistance Schemes and the Causes of Non-take-up	158	(7)
The Administration of Social Assistance and the Question of Take-up	165	(26)
Empirical Evidence on the Take-up of Social Assistance Benefits	191	(9)
Non-take-up and the Effectiveness of Social Assistance Schemes	200	(3)
Conclusion	203	(8)
Towards an Explanation of Poverty in Industrialized Welfare States	203	(3)
Mending the Holes in the Social Safety Net	206	(3)
Flawed Policies or a Flawed Measurement of Poverty?	209	(2)
Appendix	211	(8)
Bibliography	219	(22)
Index	241