Social welfare expenditures in the United States and the Nordic countries: 1900-2003

"The extent of social expenditures in the U.S. and the Nordic Countries is compared in the early 1900s and again in the early 2000s. The common view that America spends much less on social welfare than the Nordic countries does not survive closer inspection when we consider the differences in t...

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Main Authors: National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Fishback, Price V.
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, MA 2010
NBER
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19184792124919029749-Social-welfare-expenditures-in.htm
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author National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Fishback, Price V.
author_facet National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Fishback, Price V.
collection Library items
description "The extent of social expenditures in the U.S. and the Nordic Countries is compared in the early 1900s and again in the early 2000s. The common view that America spends much less on social welfare than the Nordic countries does not survive closer inspection when we consider the differences in the structures of social expenditures. The standard comparison examines gross social expenditures. After adjustments for direct and indirect taxes paid, the net social expenditures in the Nordic countries are much closer to American levels. Inclusion of mandatory and private social expenditures raises the American share of GDP devoted to social expenditures to rank among the middle of the Nordic countries. Per capita net public social expenditures in the U.S. rank behind only Sweden. Add in the private spending, and per capita spending in the U.S. is higher than in all of the Nordic countries. Finally, I document the enormous diversity across time and place in public social expenditures in the U.S. in the early 1900s and circa 1990. "
format TEXT
geographic Sweden
USA
id 19184792124919029749_480828f76166450592fc32525f8a56f6
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19184792124919029749_480828f76166450592fc32525f8a56f6
is_hierarchy_title Social welfare expenditures in the United States and the Nordic countries: 1900-2003
language English
physical 61 p.
Digital
publishDate 2010
publisher Cambridge, MA
NBER
spellingShingle National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Fishback, Price V.
comparison
history
social expenditure
social protection
statistics
welfare state
Social welfare expenditures in the United States and the Nordic countries: 1900-2003
title Social welfare expenditures in the United States and the Nordic countries: 1900-2003
topic comparison
history
social expenditure
social protection
statistics
welfare state
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19184792124919029749-Social-welfare-expenditures-in.htm