Social Security Policies in Industrial Countries A Comparative Analysis [Hardcover]

The discussion focuses on questions such as the relative merits of earnings-related, income-tested and universal benefits.An examination of the stresses and strains encountered by social security policies in the 70s and 80s after 25 years of expansion and liberalization in industrial countries during the postwar period.An examination of the stresses and strains encountered by social security policies in the 70s and 80s after 25 years of expansion and liberalization in industrial countries during the postwar period.After 25 years of expansion and liberalization in the postwar period, social security policies in industrial countries have been encountering stresses and strains in the 1970s and 1980s. This book focuses on such questions as the relative merits of earnings-related, income-tested, and universal benefits; the bearer of the financial burden; the impact of social security benefits on incentives to work; the role of active labor market policies in combating unemployment; the wide differences among countries in their relative emphasis on rehabilitation and the disabled; and policies toward single-parent families.Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; 1. Post-war developments; 2. Differences in social security spending; 3. National old-age pension programs: basic structure; 4. Other major features of old-age pension programs; 5. The age of retirement; 6. Long-term invalidity programs; 7. Industrial injuries programs; 8. The role of employer pension plans; 9. The economic impacts of pension programs; 10. Health benefits; 11. Unemployment compensation; 12. Labour market policies; 13. Family allowances and family policies; 14. Public assistance and guaranteed income proposals; 15. International linkages; 16. Conclusions; Appendices; References; Index. This is a highly competent and informative book presenting social security in international perspective. It is comprehensive in scope and depth of coverage. It also effectively combines information on the conceplÓ5