Economics of the Welfare State

Fifth Edition

Nicholas Barr

The only UK textbook to focus on welfare issues such as education, health care, pensions and poverty relief, rather than general public economics
Analyses the major elements of the welfare state within a coherent economic theoretical framework
Emphasis on welfare systems internationally, allowing students to see the direct relevance and application of their learning
International examples give students the opportunity to compare different institutions and welfare issues around the world

New to this Edition:

Increased international coverage with boxed examples throughout the text
Two theory chapters are substantially updated to include behavioural economics, incomplete markets and incomplete contracts
Pensions chapter rewritten to simplify concepts, deepen theory and extend discussion of gender and includes boxes on pensions systems and age pyramids in a range of countries
Discussion of benefits in kind includes increased international coverage
Historical coverage now incorporated in chapter 1 to allow for greater focus on other key areas
Globalization features as a topic in the concluding chapter

Economics of the Welfare State

Fifth Edition

Nicholas Barr

Description

The fifth edition of this successful textbook discusses the different parts of the welfare system, in particular, cash benefits, health care and education. The text argues that the welfare state does not exist only to help the underprivileged, but also for reasons of efficiency, in areas where private markets would be inefficient or would not exist at all.

Suitable for economics students and for students on related disciplines such as social policy and political economy, this book is accessible and contains a non-technical appendix to each of the theory chapters, diagrams, additional readings, worked examples and end of chapter discussions.

Online Resource Centre

For students:
- Web links
- Further reading
- Links to related Oxford Scholarship Online titles

For lecturers:
- PowerPoint slides - these have been expanded for the fifth edition

Economics of the Welfare State

Fifth Edition

Nicholas Barr

Part 1: Concepts
1: Introduction
2: Political theory: Social justice and the state
3: Economic theory 1: State intervention
4: Economic theory 2: Insurance
5: Problems of definition and measurement
Part 2: Cash benefits
6: Insurance: Unemployment, sickness, and disability
7: Consumption smoothing: Old age pensions
8: Poverty relief
9: Strategies for reform
Part 3: Benefits in kind
10: Health and health care
11: School education
12: Higher education
Part 4: Epilogue
13: Conclusion