In this paper we propose an ecological and evolutionary model for the historical comparative analysis of some major changes in national public welfare systems. In section 1 the essential features of the conceptual framework are outlined, by shortly reviewing some recent works developed by...

A 1997 report by the Council of Economic Advisers started a large research effort about the effects of the unemployment rate on the welfare participation rate and vice-versa, with special regard to the 1990s in the United States. In this paper the relationship between the US unemployment rate...