The Welfare State in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The modern welfare state, which was created in the long economic expansion of the post‐World War II era, funded benefits that provided income security across the life course. In the 1970s, the era of welfare state expansion slowed due to rising deficits and fiscal strains associated with population aging. In recent decades benefit reductions have become commonplace. Theories designed to explain the formation of welfare state include the logic of industrialism, power resource theory, and the theory of welfare state regimes. Feminist critics challenged theorists to consider how welfare benefits influence gender inequality within regime types. In recent years, research has focused on three key issues. The first is to identify variations in welfare state attitudes across nations and among individuals within nations. The second is to consider the causes and consequences of activation policies that focus less on direct cash transfers and more on a combination of incentives and punishments to encourage work effort. Finally, the third is to expand the definition of the welfare state to include the private provision of goods and services as well as education.