- What are the objectives of social security and social assistance provisions?
- How can we establish whether these provisions are effective?
- How do countries differ in the design and effectiveness of their social security systems?
This introductory textbook provides a foundation for the systematic study of social security and means-tested social assistance. The book is structured around a model of policy evaluation, which focuses attention on the multiple objectives and outcomes of social security and provides the basis for a multi-disciplinary approach. It progresses from an examination of the varied objectives of social security, via a consideration of key implementation issues, to the establishment of measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
Throughout the text theoretical issues are illustrated with reference to the experiences of six countries: the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia, Germany, Sweden and South Korea, to provide an international comparative framework.
This is a key textbook for students of social and public policy and economics and essential reading for anyone interested in social security, social welfare and the welfare state.
Table of Contents:
Series editor's foreword
Preface
Part one: Objectives
History, ideology and comparison
Goals and objectives
Part two: Mechanisms
Public and private provision
Funding
Allocation
Part three: Effectiveness
Adequacy and relativities
Equity and redistributive impact
Target effectiveness
Part four: Efficiency and interactions
Efficiency
Economic and employment policies
Benefits and taxation
Part five: Contemporary influences
Individualism and the risk society
Socio-demographics
Internationalism and globalisation
References
Index.
About the Author :
Robert B. Walker Bob works at the University of Iowa, Tippie College of Business in the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, where he teaches students to pursue their passions and turn those passions into profit. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Miami University, an MBA from the University of Iowa, and a PhD from Iowa State University. He spent 18 years working in community banks before starting his own consulting practice. During this time, he was the Executive Director of the East Central Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Banking, a division of the American Bankers Association. He taught for nine years at Kirkwood Community College as Banking and Finance Coordinator and for five years at Mount Mercy University as Department Chair before returning to the University of Iowa, his Alma mater. Dr. Walker served on the Associates Degree Board of Commissioners for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) and was actively involved in Kirkwood Community College’s initial ACBSP accreditation. He was a Sam M. Walton fellow at Kirkwood Community College, starting the school’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and is currently lead Sam M. Walton Fellow for the University of Iowa’s Enactus team. He is also faculty adviser at the University of Iowa for the Sigma Nu Tau entrepreneurial honors society and I-Envision, the University
