One of the most prominent trends in Western welfare capitalism during the last decades has been the expansion of welfare services as an outcome of the transition from the Fordist to a 'post-industrial' settlement, driven by changes in the wider society and the economic system. The advent of what...

Within the past decades, employment precariousness has emerged as an alarming phenomenon afflicting labor markets across Europe. While the spread of job insecurity can be traced to specific mechanisms and processes triggered by recent macroeconomic developments, evidence shows how mainstream...

With rising spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has become involved in decision-making in areas where it has held back for years. In the case of housing the state's role has declined sharply since 1989, and the expectation that housing is the private responsibility of each...

The current social crisis, caused by the negative consequences of globalization, labor migration, and an aging population, requires the state’s role in economic and social spheres to be reconsidered. In order to achieve and maintain sustainable economic growth, the pressing social problems,...

The aim of this study is to analyze redistribution within the Austrian tax-benefit system. In this work we take a comprehensive view and include not only direct taxation and cash benefits, but also indirect taxes and in-kind transfers. We look at two kinds of redistribution: between the...

We complement the institutional literature on gender and the welfare state by examining how taxes and transfers affect the incomes of men and women. Using microsimulation and intra-household income splitting rules, we measure the differences in the level and composition of individual disposable...

The aim of this study is to analyze redistribution within the Austrian tax-benefit system. In this work we take a comprehensive view and include not only direct taxation and cash benefits, but also indirect taxes and in-kind transfers. We look at two kinds of redistribution: between the...

Despite rising interest in income inequality, scholars remain divided over the mechanisms most amenable to inclusive income growth, how these mechanisms vary across country, and the trade-offs between levels and inclusivity of growth. This study introduces the concept of national growth...

Previous sociological research has overlooked the fact that a welfare state’s tax system does not solely redistribute from rich to poor (vertical) but also between family types (horizontal). Different types of families are treated differently due to (de-)familialization policies in the tax...

The welfare state has long been under debate. Besides various theoretical discussions, it has often been empirically investigated regarding its effects on inequality and economic growth. With the advent of the scientific field of happiness research, scholars began to discuss the welfare state's...

This paper introduces the microWELT model. Starting from its objectives, we discuss design choices, the model architecture and key features. microWELT provides a demographic projection tool reproducing Eurostat population projections but adding details such as education, intergenerational...

The present paper discusses the elements and workings of the so called "Reddito di Cittadinanza" (translatable as "Citizenship Income"), the scheme for minimum income protection that was recently adopted by the Italian government and that undoubtedly represents a turning point for the country's...

This article attempts to identify social investment strategies across EU countries and explain their evolution over the period 2004-18, by using cluster analysis on expenditure and coverage variables and qualitative analysis on selected policy areas to contextualize the results. It finds that...

One of the most prominent trends in Western welfare capitalism during the last decades has been the expansion of welfare services as an outcome of the transition from the Fordist to a 'post-industrial' settlement, driven by changes in the wider society and the economic system. The advent of what...

Within the past decades, employment precariousness has emerged as an alarming phenomenon afflicting labor markets across Europe. While the spread of job insecurity can be traced to specific mechanisms and processes triggered by recent macroeconomic developments, evidence shows how mainstream...

The Hartz IV labour market reform in 2005 triggered a substantial reduction in unemployment in Germany. At the same time, it reduced social welfare for the long-term unemployed and increased uncertainty for the employed. The proposed reform by the new government ("Bürgergeld") will adjust the...

The authors discuss the reform of basic security in the direction of a "citizen’s income" in the coalition agreement of the new "traffic light coalition" at the federal level against the background of fundamental considerations on the future of the welfare state, including those from the...

This article attempts to identify social investment strategies across EU countries and explain their evolution over the period 2004-18, by using cluster analysis on expenditure and coverage variables and qualitative analysis on selected policy areas to contextualize the results. It finds that...

This article introduces fiscal impoverishment as a novel framework for comparative poverty research. We invert standard analyses of welfare state policy and household poverty by focusing not on poverty alleviation but poverty creation and exacerbation. Using harmonized household survey data, we...

It has been widely recognized that population ageing could generate structural changes centered around a dwindling labor force, on one hand, and an expanding dependency on the generosity of the welfare state, on the other hand. Welfare state policy related to population ageing entails both...

Behaviorally informed interventions include nudges, taxes, subsidies, bans, and mandates. In evaluating such interventions, policymakers should consider both their welfare effects (including, for example, their potentially negative effects on subjective well-being) and their effects on...

Past research has demonstrated the economic effectiveness of welfare state reforms that broadly follow the Danish flexicurity model, defined as the combination of highly flexible labor market policies and generous protection schemes for individuals that become unemployed. Notwithstanding, it has...

Sweden has a remarkable record in reducing inequality and virtually eliminating poverty. This paper shows that: 1) Sweden achieved its egalitarian income distribution and eliminated poverty largely because of its system of earnings and income determination, not because of the homogeneity of the...

We study the effects of welfare generosity on international migration using reforms of immigrant welfare benefits in Denmark. The first reform, implemented in 2002, lowered benefits for non-EU immigrants by about 50%, with no changes for natives or EU immigrants. The policy was later repealed...

The present essay discusses several channels of social policy on climate mitigation and utilizes the Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme as an example for endowment increasing and inclusive social policy instruments. UBI comprises the payment of a fixed amount of money to every member of a...

Is the Welfare State sustainable? How has it fared in the last few decades? What are the main challenges facing the Welfare State today and in the near future? This Working paper aims at offering the reader with elements to answer, if temporarily, this questions regarding the present and future...

This paper looks at the effects of tax-benefit systems and social stratification determinants on the probability of poverty among mothers after childbirth and divorce/separation. The analysis was carried out for twelve EU countries, which represent a variety of welfare regimes providing...

This paper argues that the traditional societal contract that underlies the market economy has run its course and needs to be replaced by a new contract, based on a new conception of the "empowering economy." Whereas different societal contracts are relevant to different societies, there must be...