Welfare and Inequality
National and International Perspectives on the Australian Welfare State

This book introduces key concepts in the welfare state debate and questions the arguments for further cutbacks.

Peter Gordon Saunders (Author)

9780521455947, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 April 1994

336 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

Over the past few decades the welfare state has been under increasing pressure. Rapid social and economic change has left many people dependent on social institutions, while deteriorating economic prospects have led to calls to cut welfare expenditure. This book introduces key concepts in the welfare state debate and questions the arguments for further cutbacks. It examines: • the role, nature and effects of the welfare state in contemporary society • the links between the welfare state and the economy, particularly in Australia in the 1990s • the success of the Australian welfare state in achieving its aims of improving economic equality and social cohesion. These issues are considered in the light of the experiences of comparable countries able to offer lessons to Australia. Written by economists in clear language, the book makes an important contribution to the discussion of social issues.

Preface
1. Introduction: welfare and inequality
2. Past developments and future prospects for social security in Australia
3. An economic perspective on the provision and finance of community services
4. Efficiency and effectiveness in social policies: an international perspective
5. Economic rationalism and the welfare state
6. The social wage, living standards and inequality
7. Income distribution in comparative perspective: concepts and results
8. Poverty: concepts and measurement
9. Poverty and deprivation in the 1980s
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Biography: historical, political & military [BGH]