Making Social Spending Work

438 Pages·2021·7.686 MB·English

by  Peter H. Lindert

MAKING SOCIAL SPENDING WORK
Howdoessocialspendingrelatetoeconomicgrowthandwhichcountrieshave
got this right and wrong? Peter Lindert examines the experience of countries
acrosstheglobetorevealwhathasworked,whatneedschangingandwhothe
winners and losers are under different systems. He traces the development of
publiceducation,healthcare,pensions,andwelfareprovision,andaddresseskey
questions around inter-generational inequality and fiscal redistribution, the
returnstoinvestmentinhumancapital,howtodealwithanagingpopulation,
whether migration is a cost or a benefit, and how social spending differs in
autocracies and democracies. The book shows that what we need to do above
allistoinvestmoreintheyoungfromcradletocareer,andshifttheburdenof
payingforsocialinsuranceawayfromtheworkplaceandontosocietyasawhole.
Peter H. Lindert is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of
California, Davis. His previous publications include the prize-winning book
Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century
(2004)andUnequalGains:AmericanGrowthandInequalitysince1700(2016,with
JeffreyG.Williamson).

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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108478168
DOI:10.1017/9781108784467
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Contents
ListofFigures ix
ListofTables xii
part i. overview
1. EnduringIssues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. FindingsandLessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
part ii. the long rise, and its causes
3. WhyPoorReliefArrivedSoLate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4. TheDawnofMassSchoolingbefore1914 . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5. PublicEducationsince1914 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6. More,butDifferent,SocialSpendinginRich
Countriessince1914 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
7. IstheRestoftheWorldFollowingaDifferentPath? . . . . . 122
part iii. what effects?
8. EffectsonGrowth,Jobs,andLife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
9. WhyNoNetLossofGDPorWork? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
10. DotheRichPaythePoorforAllThis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
part iv. confronting threats
11. DoImmigrationTensionsFraytheSafetyNets? . . . . . . . 235
12. PensionsandtheCurseofLongLife . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
13. ApproachestoPublicPensionReform . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
14. BorrowingSocial-SpendingLessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
vii
CONTENTS
appendices
Availableonlineatwww.cambridge.org/Lindert
AppendixA. SourcesandNotesforChapters3and4
AppendixB. FiscalRedistributionintheLongerRun
AppendixC. SourcesandNotesforChapter10
AppendixD. Chapter12’sPensionAccounting–EquationsandForecasts
Acknowledgments 356
Notes 358
References 390
Index 419
viii