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Shifting Tides
Article

Shifting Tides

Dramatic Social Changes Mean the Welfare State Is More Necessary Than Ever

Nicholas Barr
IMF, 2018
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  • Controversial
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Recommendation

In the United States, where health insurance and other social benefits are often tied to employment, many people view the “welfare state” as a crutch for the poor. But changes in gender roles, the demonstrated shortcomings of private health insurance and varying employment patterns make such thinking woefully obsolete. Professor Nicholas Barr argues, in this cogent analysis for executives and policy experts, that today’s outdated policies do not reflect new realities that make judicious intervention by governments more important than ever.

Take-Aways

  • While many people take the simplistic view that state benefits only aid the poor, they are in fact a way to help individuals adversely affected by market failures.
  • Irrational human behavior, imperfect market information and uncertainty make welfare states necessary, regardless of the level of prosperity in a society.
  • Today’s more mobile job climate encompasses diverse approaches, but job security is disappearing.

About the Author

Nicholas Barr is a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science

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