Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When this book was first published in 1987 it was widely recognised as a comprehensive and definitive text on the economics of the welfare state - its efficiency, its fairness and its relevance to the whole population, not just to the poor. Although written specifically for students of economics, a diverse readership, including students of social administration and public policy, has been kept in mind throughout. Each of the technical chapters has an appendix which explains the results in non-technical terms. Nicholas Barr has included a number of new- largely forward-looking - topics in this latest edition: longer-term insurance to cover disability and residential care in old age; the impact of genetic screening on medical insurance and life insurance; challenges to the welfare state, including demographic change, globalization, changes in family structure, and changes in the structure of jobs; and debates about the welfare state - is it desirable; and , if desirable, is it any longer feasible, given demographic and other challenges? The Economics of the Welfare State deserves to remain at the top of every student's reading list for public economics, social economics and social policy. Endorsements of second edition: "Nicholas Barr has written a very good book which deserves to become a standard text on the economics of the welfare state" Journal of Social Policy "... a detailed, tightly argued discussion of both the aims and the methods of social policy ... its didactic layout and style makes it accessible to students of the subject and even to non-economists like myself...He has written a text for the years to come, intelligent, thorough, informative and clear." Sir Ralph Dahrendorf - Times Higher Education Supplement "Economists seeking a unified treatment of the economics of the welfare state can stop searching. They will find Nicholas Barr's well-organised, lucidly-written volume a welcome alternative to the fragmented, incomplete discussions that appear in textbooks on public economics, labour economics and poverty and income inequality...By persistently asking the kinds of questions an economist should ask about policy issues, and sensibly answering them, the book teaches readers much about the value of an economic approach to policy issues." Journal of Economic Literature

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Part 1 Concepts
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Historical Background
• 3 Political Theory: Social Justice and the State
• 4 Economic Theory 1: State Intervention
• 5 Economic Theory 2: Insurance
• 6 Problems of Definition and Measurement
• Part 2 Cash Benefits
• 7 Financing the Welfare State
• 8 Contributory Benefits 1: Unemployment, Sickness and Disability
• 9 Contributory Benefits 2: Retirement Pensions
• 10 Non-Contributory Benefits
• 11 Strategies for Reform
• Part 3 Benefits in Kind
• 12 Health and Health Care
• 13 Education
• 14 Housing
• Part 4 Epilogue
• 15 Conclusion
• Glossary
• References
• Author index
• Subject index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The second edition of The Economics of the Welfare State updates and revises the 1987 edition of this important book. Barr makes the case that the welfare state, which he defines to include income support, health care, education, and housing, has important efficiency tasks in addition to any distributional objectives. This case is made through a finely woven argument combining history, philosophy, and economic theory. While in 1987 this argument might be seen as a reaction to Reagan and Thatcher, in 1993 its positive approach is a useful contribution to policy developments in both the West (health care reform) and in the former Soviet states (development of a social safety net). Many readers will find the expanded analysis of health care, including international comparisons, to be particularly welcome although, like the first edition, there is a strong emphasis on British institutions. The theoretical analysis has general application, however. The second edition therefore is a worthwhile addition to collections that already include the 1987 edition and a timely contribution to collections that lack it. Advanced undergraduate through faculty. M. Veseth University of Puget Sound

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Nicholas Barr is Senior Lecturer in economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of numerous articles on taxation, income support, social policy and higher education finance. In 1990-92 he worked for the World Bank on the development of the welfare state in Central and Eastern Europe.