Revisiting Welfare States. Performance in Reducing Poverty through Longitudinal Multinational Comparison |
| |
Authors: | Nazim Habibov Lida Fan Yuhong Liang Chi Ho Cheung |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. University of Windsor, School of Social Work, Windsor, Ontario, Canada;2. School of Social Work, Lakehead University, Thunderbay, Ontario, Canada;3. University of Windsor Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Windsor, Ontario, Canada;4. University of Windsor Faculty of Science, Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| |
Abstract: | This article presents the results of a comparative study on the effects of social welfare programs in selected developed countries. Using a fully comparable longitudinal data file from nationally representative household surveys, we estimate the poverty rate and poverty gap before and after social welfare transfers and taxes in order to identify the direct effects of social welfare on poverty. In general, the findings reveal that countries with conservative welfare regimes demonstrate higher poverty performance than do countries with liberal welfare regimes. In particular, the United States lagged behind through all periods under investigation, whereas Germany exhibited the highest performance in poverty reduction. |
| |
Keywords: | Comparative social welfare public welfare social protection social security |
|
|