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Social Protection for the Poor in the Developed World: The Evidence from LIS

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  • Katherin Ross Phillips
  • Timothy Smeeding

Abstract

This paper presents data and analysis on the antipoverty effectiveness of safety nets in eight rich nations using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). We find that national safety nets are quite varied and that the most expensive ones (in terms of budgetary cost) are also the most effective. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the construction of effective safety nets in developing nations.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherin Ross Phillips & Timothy Smeeding, 1999. "Social Protection for the Poor in the Developed World: The Evidence from LIS," LIS Working papers 204, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:204
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas A. DiPrete, 2001. "Life Course Risks, Mobility Regimes, and Mobility Consequences: A Comparison of Sweden, Germany and the U.S," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 255, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. John Scott, 2002. "High Inequality, Low Revenue: Redistributive Efficiency on Latin American Fiscal Policy in Comparative Perspective," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8907, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Daniyal Zuberi, 2001. "Transfers Matter Most," LIS Working papers 271, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Siddiqi, Arjumand & Hertzman, Clyde, 2007. "Towards an epidemiological understanding of the effects of long-term institutional changes on population health: A case study of Canada versus the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 589-603, February.
    5. Christina Behrendt, 2000. "Holes in the Safety Net? Social Security and the Alleviation of Poverty in a Comparative Perspective," LIS Working papers 259, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    6. Timothy M. Smeeding & Katherin Ross Phillips, 2002. "Cross-National Differences in Employment and Economic Sufficiency," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 580(1), pages 103-133, March.

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