The Evolution of Israel's Social Security System: Structure, Time Pattern and Macroeconomic Impact

The main feature of this book is the attempt to study the implications of the post-World War II notion of "entitlement" to social security, within the framework of Israel's economic constraints at the macroeconomic plane. This leads to the development and the applications of quantitative measures to the twin notions - the "frontier" of the welfare state and the "frontier" of social security. Though naturally set and elaborated in the empirical context of the Israeli economy, the evidence of the containment of the welfare state in industrialized countries from the 1980s onwards, is studied. An operational plan for the reform of Israel's social security system is put forward, involving an attempt to integrate the classical Beveridge notions - "universality", the "contributions" requirement and the "pay as you go" technique of financial social security within the relevant economic and fiscal constraints focusing on the equity dimension and the politics of the welfare state.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 The post-war new socio-economic order. Part 2 The structure and pattern of transfer payments in the 1980s: transfers, economic aggregates and the role of the national insurance institute (NII); benefit rates in the 1980s; the composition of entitlements in the 1980s; the revealed preferences of Israel's social policy; the strained finances of transfer payments - a first approximation; the significance of the NII's bookkeeping rules. Part 3 The emergence of social security - the Israeli variety: national insurance - origins and design; prototypes and characteristics of Israel's entitlements system; social security priorities in the 1950s; the old-age and survivors benefits programme; the performance of social security - the first decade. Part 4 The 1970-74 "new departure" and its fiscal implications: the growing incidence of social security; the emergence of the family-size issues; child allowances - the programmes and their funding; the new departure of 1970-74; the growing strain of financing social security; the containment effort - universality (partly) abandoned. Part 5 The frontier of Israel's social security system: social security benefits and financing entitlements in the early 1990s; social security finances and labour costs in Israel; the notion of a (universal) economic frontier of social security; Israel's social security system in comparative terms. Part 6 The frontier of welfare states in the 1990s - implications for Israel: the containment of the welfare state in industrialized countries; tax absorption - the Israeli welfare-state frontier; the priorities of Israel's welfare state in the 1990s. Part 7 Social security - outlines of a feasible reform: the revelance of Beveridge notions - universality, contributions and pay-as-you-go; the scope of social security and child benefits; the incidence of social security in the 1990s - a proposal for relief.