Economics of the Welfare State

• The only UK textbook to focus on welfare issues such as education, health care, pensions and poverty relief, rather than general public economics
• Analyses the major elements of the welfare state within a coherent economic theoretical framework
• Emphasis on welfare systems internationally, allowing students to see the direct relevance and application of their learning
• International examples give students the opportunity to compare different institutions and welfare issues around the world

New to this edition

• Increased international coverage with boxed examples throughout the text
• Two theory chapters are substantially updated to include behavioural economics, incomplete markets and incomplete contracts
• Pensions chapter rewritten to simplify concepts, deepen theory and extend discussion of gender and includes boxes on pensions systems and age pyramids in a range of countries
• Discussion of benefits in kind includes increased international coverage
• Historical coverage now incorporated in chapter 1 to allow for greater focus on other key areas
• Globalization features as a topic in the concluding chapter

Readership: 3rd year undergraduate students in economics, social policy or political economy taking an optional module on the economics of the welfare state.

Nicholas Barr, Professor Nicholas Barr is Professor of Public Economics in the European Institute at the London School of Economics.

Part 1: Concepts
1: Introduction
2: Political theory: Social justice and the state
3: Economic theory 1: State intervention
4: Economic theory 2: Insurance
5: Problems of definition and measurement
Part 2: Cash benefits
6: Insurance: Unemployment, sickness, and disability
7: Consumption smoothing: Old age pensions
8: Poverty relief
9: Strategies for reform
Part 3: Benefits in kind
10: Health and health care
11: School education
12: Higher education
Part 4: Epilogue
13: Conclusion