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Clustering European Welfare Systems through a Performance Index

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  • Maria Alessandra Antonelli
  • Valeria De Bonis

    (Università Sapienza di Roma - Dipartimento di Studi Giuridici, Filosofici ed Economici)

Abstract

We construct a composite performance indicator to assess the relative performance of welfare policies in the EU countries. We show that the variability of performances cannot be explained only by the amount of resources devoted to social policies, but also by the composition of social expenditure: countries with higher shares of redistributive public expenditure obtain better results in the social sector. This result confirms the association between the type of welfare system, according to the traditional four-way classification, and the performance level. However, considering a more complete set of indicators of the structure of the welfare systems, we find that European countries cannot be grouped according to the traditional classification. Considering expenditure-side indicators and financing-side indicators together, three groups form: one comprising the UK and Iceland, one the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, one the continental (and southern) countries and Ireland.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Valeria De Bonis, 2016. "Clustering European Welfare Systems through a Performance Index," Public Finance Research Papers 18, Istituto di Economia e Finanza, DSGE, Sapienza University of Rome.
    • Handle: RePEc:gfe:pfrp00:00018
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Antonelli Maria Alessandra & De Bonis Valeria, 2018. "Assessing the performance of social spending in Europe," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 17-31, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    welfare systems; European integration; cluster analysis.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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